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Not too many kids can afford a trip to Japan. But everyone who reads this story can take an e-trip! Come on!

Before we leave

Our plane will fly over the Arctic Circle.
Let's think about who we will visit in Japan. How about Yuhdai Takeuchi?

Yuhdai's 14 years old, and lives in Ichinomiya City, Japan. Japan is a big island in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the continent of Asia.

Our plane ride will take about 15 hours from Chicago. The pilot will fly north over the Arctic Circle, with a fuel stop in Alaska.

It's faster to fly north over the Arctic Circle than to fly west over Hawaii, can you guess why?Do kids in Japan get an allowance?

Why Fly Over the Arctic?

Flying north over the Arctic Circle is shorter than flying west over California and Hawaii. Why?

Because the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If you draw a straight line from Chicago to Toyko on a globe, it crosses the Arctic Circle.

This looks out of the way on a flat map, but on a globe, it makes sense.

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Arrival!

Our plane lands in Tokyo, in the Kanto region. It's the largest city in Japan! We take the shinkansen or bullet train, to NagoWhat part of Japan does Yuhdai live in?ya, in the Chubu region of Japan. Japan is divided into nine regions, and Chubu is one.

From Nagoya we ride a subway train to Ichinomiya City, where Yuhdai lives with his parents and grandparents.

Ichinomiya

Say ee chee NO mee a, and you're saying the name of Yuhdai's city.

It's in the central part of Japan's mainland, near Nagoya, the capital of the Aichi prefecture. Nagoya, in Japan, is like the capital of a state in the US.

In Japan, you call very large regions prefectures. A prefecture is like a state in the US. In 2005, Aichi prefecture hosted the 2005 World Expo!

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Finding Yuhdai

Click here to see a larger image!

Yuhdai At Home

Yuhdai loves his dog, Yuki. And Yuki loves Yuhdai! There must be something about the letter Y!

Yuki is the Japanese word for snow.

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We take the subway to Azai Junior High School. Kids are walking and riding bikes. They're wearing uniforms and carrying bookbags. One of them is Yuhdai!

Yuhdai is in 9th grade. In Japan, 9th grade is the last year of middle school. He says, "I study hard. My favorite class is taiku," which is physical exercise.

It's lunch time and Yuhdai's off to eat some dried fish! A typical school lunch in Japan is dried fish, rice, miso soup (which is made from soybean paste), bits of tofu, and pickled roots and vegetables. Everyone uses chopsticks or hashi.

Want to cook Japanese food?

Before they eat together, they say, Itadakimusu. It means I receive this food. After eating, they say, Gochiso-sama, which means I appreciate the food.

Life in and out of school

Yuhdai plays soccer almost every day after school. He says, "it's my favorite sport." He dreams of a career in sports—especially soccer.

Japanese culture brings order and dignity.

Japanese Culture

• In Japan, you take your shoes off at the door—even at school! Whenever they are inside, the Japanese wear slippers, called surippa.
• After they wash, the Japanese love to take a hot bath to relax. Yes, after they wash!
• The Japanese also love public baths. In Japan, a public bath, or sento, was the only way to bathe for centuries.
• In the US we give gifts to each other. But in Japan they give you a gift for your mother or mamasan. It is how they honor you.

On this e-trip, you can e-xamine Japanese culture
or e-xperience a folk legend!

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Just like most kids, when Yuhdai gets home from school, he must do his homework. Then, he likes to watch television or play videogames. But in Japan, he won't have time for games when he goes to high school.

There's no time for part-time jobs either. Yuhdai says "my job is to be a good student and to study hard."

High school in Japan is hard. Kids do nothing but study. They even go to school on Saturday, about 3 out of 4 weekends a month.

Yuhdai says math and science "take extreme effort." His parents consider it their duty to help him get top grades.

Yuhdai's nest egg

Yuhdai's grandmother, Etuko Takeuchi, knows about his dreams.

Etuka Takeuchi Knows About Dreams

Yuhdai's grandmother is the Chairperson of Japan Credit Union (JCU).

JCU organizes all the credit unions in Japan so that they work together helping kids and adults manage their money.

That means Yuhdai's grandmother has an important job helping a lot of people!

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She has started what she calls a nest egg for Yuhdai.

Nest Egg?

Nest egg is a term for an amount of money saved for a specific purpose. You keep adding to it over time.

Use this calculator to see how you can earn more money for your own nest egg!

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"A few years ago, my grandmother opened a youth savings account for me at Ichinomiya Credit Union," says Yuhdai. "We are saving for my college tuition."

Yuhdai is fortunate to have a head start, with help from a smart grandmother.

by Nancy Hoene