Jim's trip to Japan

Jim Stott tells us about his trip to Japan earlier this year, teaching at the Tokyo Branch weekend 

I set out from Aberdeen on 17th January 2024 on a very snowy afternoon. I had been invited to teach at the Tokyo Branch weekend in Nikko, three years before.  Of course, Covid put an end to that in 2021 and again in 2022. Finally, the rearranged event, Tokyo Branch 40th Anniversary, was to be held in Kamakura in January 2024. My fear was that I would not be able to leave Aberdeen because of the weather.  The plane had to be de-iced before leaving.  Finally, I left for London, quite a bit late.   The following morning, I flew from Heathrow and after a fourteen-hour flight, I arrived in Haneda airport.   Tom Toriyama, the Chair of the Branch was there to meet me and escort me to the weekend venue.

We set off from the airport on a bus and I had my very first sighting of Mt Fuji as I crossed the harbour bridge at Yokohama.  It was awesome!   The bus followed the local route towards Kamakura.  There was a change of transport at Fujisawa.   There I got on the Enoshima Electric railway, the Enoden line.  This railway had over a hundred-year history. I was immediately struck by the polite passengers and orderly people. It wound its way through the town and took us to the coast at Sagami Bay.  There we disembarked and walked the last few minutes to the beautiful Prince Hotel.   I was provided with everything I needed for the weekend, even heated toilet seats!

I had written three dances to teach at the weekend of 2021 at Nikko but ended up writing a suite of eight dances for the 2024 weekend.  It is called ‘In the Sunlight of Nikko and Kamakura’.   My aim was to launch the book in Kamakura and teach some of the dances.   

The Branch weekend, that I had been excited about for several years, came round so quickly. 

There were classes on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.  I entered the hall and saw 98 dancers eager to be taught and dance.  I had two wonderful musicians:  Hidenori Omori and Hiroko Kokai.   They were so supportive and provided excellent music.  There were also two interpreters during the weekend:  Yuriko Tatsumi and Atsuko Clement.  They both provided excellent support to me as I taught. Despite the language difficulties the dancers listened very politely and watched intently when being shown.   They danced my dances so well. What a thrill that was.   The Friday evening dance was ‘nice and easy’. with not too many challenges.   

On Saturday, Yuriko took me on a tour of the temples of Kamakura.   I visited the Kotoko-in

Temple’s great Buddha and many other temples, shrines and historical monuments near Sagami Bay.   I got to know the places I had written dances for.  It was a wonderful to experience totally different cultures. 

Before the ball on Saturday, I passed on a message from the RSCDS Chair, which was much appreciated, this being Tokyo Branch’s 40th anniversary.  The Ball was superb and the beautiful ball gowns provided a magical picture on the dance floor.  Just as things should be.  The dancers mixed so well and were not slow to ask ‘the teacher’ to dance.  I was even invited to ‘vamp’ along with the musicians during the dance ‘The Wild Geese’.  That was a great thrill for me.   A thoroughly joyful time was had by all.   

I was able to experience a real taste of Japanese food during the weekend, from fish, to noodles and sushi.   The dinner on Saturday was lovely, and the last lunch on Sunday was served in Japanese style in little compartments.

Many dancers came to the Sunday morning class and enjoyed my selection of dances, some of my own and others.    Late Sunday afternoon I was escorted back to Tokyo to the Royal Prince Hotel, my base for the next six days.   Travelling with Anne and Pam, we managed to explore a lot of the attractions in Tokyo. I even managed to go up the Sky Tree and conquered my fear of heights, temporarily.  There were many highlights.  The tea ceremony, and kimono experience, the avatar cafe, and the trip to Nikko. Yuriko very kindly escorted us to Nikko. I really wanted to go there as I had originally written my dances for that workshop.  The evening hop-on-hop-off bus tour through the lit-up city, passing the other Tokyo Tower, the Rainbow Bridge and the harbour area was spectacular.  Getting around Tokyo was quite easy travelling on the underground system but often with the help of other commuters.

I will remember Tokyo and Japan for the politeness of the people, the cleanliness of their country, their friendship, and organisation.  It was a pleasure to teach and dance at the weekend and it will remain with me forever!