JICA training course, I’m currently coordinating, is now third week and just halfway of total course. This week’s focus was on practical training in Hiroshima and Okayama area, where participants measured and observed the differences in the characteristics of cultivated　Madagascar periwinkle and compiled reports. This included both greenhouse and outdoor training under natural light. Despite the heat, no one got sick, and on Thursday they held a presentation and received feedback and opinions from Japanese experts. This made for a productive training experience that couldn’t be gained through just sitting in classroom lesson.

On Friday, we were scheduled to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima Castle before returning to Tokyo. However, due to a typhoon, Shinkansen train schedules were disrupted, preventing our return to Tokyo. Instead, we had to stay overnight in Hiroshima. Since the weather in the Hiroshima area was beautiful, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to visit Miyajima Island, with only those who wanted to.

It was a bit of a challenge to negotiate the schedule changes and explain things to the participants, but thanks to this, we were able to see Miyajima at sunset, and we returned to Tokyo on Saturday. Starting next week, we’ll be back to Tsukuba for various practical training sessions in the rice fields.