In November, the University of Sendai welcomed 19 partner universities from 11 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia to its 50th anniversary celebrations. Among them was the University of Oldenburg, which has maintained a co-operation with the sports university in the north of the Japanese main island of Honshū via the Institute of Sport Science since 2010.
We - sports students Sören Niewint, Patrick Weise and Mark-Robin Wirsching - were on board, together with lecturers Dr Nikolaus Buschmann and Rea Kodalle as delegation leaders. We had a special gift in our luggage: a self-produced video introducing our university and a performance that thematised the tension between classic sports and modern movement styles. They were to be performed at the main event of the three-day anniversary celebrations, the so-called "International Friendship Day", at which the other partner universities would also present themselves with more or less country-specific, but in any case "sporty" contributions. On 27 October, halfway convinced of our concept, we flew from Paris to Tokyo on a French airline's Airbus, not really knowing what to expect after the 20-hour journey to Japan.
After landing at Narita Airport and being warmly welcomed by probably the nicest tour guide ever - her name was Nau - we travelled north on the Japanese high-speed train "Shinkansen" to Sendai, the capital of the Tōhoku region and administrative centre of the Japanese prefecture of Miyagi. Once we arrived there, we were warmly welcomed by Professor Keiichi Komatsu, who, together with Professor Thomas Alkemeyer, has been bringing the German-Japanese co-operation to life for years. Once we arrived at the hotel, it was time to "get ready" for the first official meetings: Firstly, the delegations were introduced in the university's ballroom and the commemorative stones for all partner universities were ceremoniously unveiled. Following a tour of the impressive university campus, we were given a tour of the "Xebio Arena" in Sendai, where the "International Friendship Day" was to take place on 1 November. The first impression of the gigantic arena, our stage and the expected audience was intimidating. It literally felt like the stadium scene from "The Kings Speech": We've never felt so small.
After the first rehearsal for the ceremony, we had some free time, which we didn't spend sightseeing, as tourists usually do, but in the neighbouring IKEA store: still a bit tired from the long journey and the intensive training, we took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep in the bed department ...
Before our performance the following day, we were asked to rehearse again - at 7.15 in the morning. That was just as well, because the lighting plan and audio track for our performance didn't fit at first. No big deal, it worked well after all and we were able to fine-tune further details during the dress rehearsal. The performance in front of over 3,000 spectators, mostly students and pupils from Sendai and the surrounding area, went much better than expected despite all the excitement - or probably because of it: The audience enthusiastically went along with our performance, just as the sometimes spectacular performances by the other partner universities and Sendai University in particular were enthusiastically celebrated.
Following the remarkably diverse and fantastic event, all delegations were invited to a closing party. This gave us another opportunity to socialise with the international guests, including Olympians and even gold medallists, and to eat and drink together. In the evening, we were able to explore Sendai one last time, the mall near the hotel and the neighbouring streets and squares. What we will remember in particular: Everywhere is incredibly clean and quiet, and that in a city of millions like Sendai. People are always helpful, respectful and, above all, patient.
At the end of our short but impressive trip, relaxation was on the programme. After the lengthy preparation for the event, which had lasted the entire semester break, and the successful performance in front of so many people, we had really earned our time out in the hotel's own "onsen", Japanese for hot springs, on the city's promenades and in other places worth seeing. With our suitcases far too full and a wealth of new experiences, we finally made our way back to cold, hectic Germany.
Many thanks to everyone involved - especially Rea Kodalle, who was always at our side with her organisational talent, Dr Nikolaus Buschmann, who took care of the representative appointments, our Japanese host Professor Keiichi Komatsu, his counterpart in Oldenburg Professor Thomas Alkemeyer, the Institute of Sport Science and the team from university sports, the university library and all our fellow students and friends who supported us during the semester break with the video shoot and the preparation of the performance. You are the greatest!
Sören, Robin and Patrick
