Japan Day 4

Thursday, May 21st

Our scheduled trip to Osaka was cancelled due to the H1N1 flu virus precautions as they closed all schools and universities. Our plans were changed to stay local and visit the Hikone Chamber of Commerce. It was a very interesting day as Shiga Prefecture is a lot like Michigan. Shiga’s economy is mostly manufacturing and agriculture with many large factories located here. Hikone has been hurt by the loss of manufacturing and the economic downturn. The directors at the Chamber of Commerce talked about how they have been trying to transform their economy and revitalize their downtown area. One of Japan’s national treasures is Hikone castle and they have done a good job of building on their heritage in redeveloping a downtown historic area call “Old New Town”. I was impressed with how they capitalized on their strengths in the redevelopment effort. After our time at the Chamber of Commerce, we were give a tour and had lunch in the area called Castle Road. Then we were invited to visit the home and art studio of a local artist where we experienced some personal Japanese hospitality. Although it wasn’t the big city, I thought our Hikone visit gave us a better look at the everyday life of the Japanese people. We spent the rest of the day doing some souvenir shopping and cooked dinner for ourselves in our kitchen at JCMU.