Miyakojima was also sunny this morning. The wind that had been blowing strongly at times yesterday had died down, and it was a refreshing start to a summer day that made it hard to imagine the impact of the typhoon that was coming tomorrow.

Today is the last day of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra's Miyakojima training camp, or rather, it's another day of travel for everyone to head home.

The 11 host families who had been hosting the group for four nights and five days saw them off at Miyako Airport. We could hear voices saying "Please contact us," "Please come again," and "We'll come again," and they sadly saw us off right before the security checkpoint. The sight of them shaking hands and hugging brought tears to my eyes.

Saying thank you and goodbye to the ocean of Miyakojima seen from the sky.

A knowledgeable fifth grade elementary school student from Fukushima who was taking pictures with his smartphone said to me, "Let's come again next year," and I answered with a smile. Please support the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, especially from large corporations.

At the transfer gate at Naha Airport, 45 members gathered in good spirits in a corner, and although we really wanted to do Sanbonjime or Gobonjime, since we were in front of the public, we quietly celebrated the success of the training camp with Kanto Ipponjime, and we were really panicked when one person lost their ticket. This time, it was made possible thanks to the generosity of JTA/JAL, so we were given special permission, but to all the members, in the future, make sure you never lose your plane ticket, and when you travel, hold it tightly so that the barcode on the ticket becomes unreadable!

So here is a shot with this tag. (I wonder if they will fully sponsor the training camp next year...)

However, as the saying goes, "He who travels a hundred miles reaches halfway," the training camp will not end so easily. Naha Airport will be temporarily closed, causing a 35-minute delay in departure. At this rate, we will not be able to make it in time for the Tohoku Shinkansen!

This may have been well known to business people, but JAL domestic flights have started offering paid Wi-Fi service on board, and the idyllic days when you could say, "Oh, I'm on a plane, so I can't check my email" during the flight are long gone. So I checked the availability of seats on the JR line on board and considered a backup plan. After a tense atmosphere like Air Force One, after takeoff, the staff headed to the Midori window in Hamamatsucho with the force of jumping out with their seat belts still fastened. Since all the seats were full, I wanted to applaud just for everyone's luggage to come out after a long time, but it was rush hour from the monorail to the JR Yamanote line, and the group with their large musical instruments and luggage couldn't move as they wanted, and I was worried about whether they would even be able to get on the Shinkansen that was being delayed. When an announcement was made like, "The stop button has been pressed at Shinbashi Station, so we are suspending operation to check for safety," I wanted to call out the person who pressed the stop button at Shinbashi Station and lecture them while sitting in seiza. However, after a 30-second stop, the train resumed operation, and we were able to see off the Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate trains with a cheerful mood at JR Tokyo Station.

Inside the Shinkansen car, bags full of souvenirs and memories from a long journey seemed to be taking a rest early.

We arrived safely at Fukushima Station!

We arrived safely at Sendai Station!

We arrived safely at Morioka Station!

Today's motto is "Training camp doesn't end until you get home!" I wonder if everyone is back home and reminiscing about the good old days?

Thanks to everyone, the Tohoku Youth Orchestra Miyakojima Training Camp 2015 Summer ended safely, without incident, and with smiles on our faces. I thought I should write a thank you note to everyone involved, but I quickly realized that this would be like an end credits credit for a Hollywood 3D blockbuster. I will focus on thanking everyone involved in the stay in Miyakojima.

Above all, we would like to thank the people responsible for making this project a reality, Amano Makoto, Secretary General of the Miyakojima City Junior Orchestra and Director of the Japan String Directors Association, Sunagawa Yasuo, Vice President of the Miyakojima Tourism Association and President of Hotel Kyowa, who kindly accepted to host our group, and our host families, Goya Taisho, Shimizu Satoshi, Kondo Takashi, Okudaira Naoji, Nishihara Takashi, Shimoji Takayuki, Takei Futoshi, Matsumoto Katsuya, Sunagawa Shiro, Sato Yuji, Ozeki Masayo, and Tatsutsu from Miyakojima Youth Hostel, who not only provided food and lodging for the children during our stay but also picked them up and dropped them off.

Thank you very much for your help.

Oh, to the god of Namiyoke Shrine in Tsukiji, Tokyo, I was lucky enough to be able to return home without being affected by the typhoon. First of all, let me offer my thanks online.

I hope to one day repay this kindness by producing great music.

Whether you participated in this training camp or not, we look forward to seeing you at our next joint practice.

I've been updating this site for five days straight, and as I finished writing this article, the song that was playing on shuffle was "I Shall be released" by The Band.

The Gods of Music know it.