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	Taiko Home ...Japan Tour
	I will never forget my first trip to Japan, on tour with San Francisco Taiko Dojo the summer of 1998. We crammed so many experiences into a week and a half, and each one was special and memorable. I could never have experienced Japan this way on my own. We were welcomed warmly by many people, met famous taiko drummers, played for responsive audiences, ate loads of wonderful food, forged many friendships, and even appeared on Japanese television.
	Our first stop was Kijima Daira, a village in Nagano. We were met there by Shoji and Tatsuya, who recently returned to Japan after studying with SFTD for four years. Tatsuya's father, Mr. Kobayashi, runs the Kijima Taiko group. Naoko, another ex-SFTD member (and good friend) traveled to Kijima from Oita, where she's studying for a year and half. It was amazing to play with Shoji, Tatsuya, and Naoko again, and all the folks in Kijima were extremely hospitable. Kijima Daira is beautiful, as you can see from the Kobayashi's back yard.
	Hawaii Matsuri Daiko also participated in all the concerts with us, which was great fun. Keiko and I even got to play a little backup for them. The Kijima concert was lots of fun, and all the Kijima girls took great care of us and fed us way too much food.
	The next morning, we (us, Hawaii, and Kijima) got on a bus to Sakaki, another town in Nagano. Once again we were treated royally by our hosts. After the concert, we had a few days to rest. We visited a natural spring (Evan and Sensei wielded sticks to... protect us?).
	The afternoon we spent with Oguchi Sensei stands out in my mind, even among the many other memorable experiences we had. We visited him at the Suwa Daiko studio, which houses a collection of instruments from around the world that rivals even the Drum Museum in Tokyo. We also played Hiriyu San Dan Gaeshi (his own composition) for him. Sensei and Oguchi Sensei had a long conversation about the state of taiko that I understood very little of at the time, but Naoko's translation later made an impression on me. If I understood correctly, when Oguchi Sensei was younger, taiko was something that only aristocrats, only members of certain families, could play. When Oguchi Sensei finally agreed to teach Tanaka Sensei, they had to meet in secret in hotel rooms. But even then, Oguchi Sensei had a vision of how taiko should be: something for everyone to enjoy and participate in.
	Then, the relaxed part of our tour over, we arrived in Tokyo a few days before our big concert with Nihon Taiko Dojo and Hawaii Matsuri Taiko, entitled "Tomoe." As everyone had warned, Tokyo was stiflingly hot, and crowded. But we never had to worry about a thing, as we were well taken care of by Nihon Taiko Dojo and Miyamoto Studios.
	Once again, we enjoyed seeing Hawaii's rehearsal. Go Kerri! And yeah, we rehearsed pretty hard, too, especially Shoji and Evan.
	The Tokyo concert was amazing, but I think the part I was most nervous about was saying a few words in Japanese to the audience after our set. Afterwards, we got some pictures with all three groups. Afterwards, we all went to a Chanko Nabe restaurant (that's what Sumo wrestlers eat) for a huge meal.