Guidebook to Kansai
by Donna Russell
How would you like to take a trip with your friends to see some of the places you’ve been studying in your Japan unit? That’s exactly what we plan to do. At the end of this unit, our class will take a trip to the Kansai area – Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. Here are the sites we will visit in each city.
Osaka – Ride the train from Nara
- Osaka Castle
- Osaka Zoo
- Trains in Japan
Kyoto – Take a charter bus to and from our youth hostel in Nara
- Kiyomizu Temple
- Nijo Castle
- Movie Village (Eiga Mura)
Nara
- Big Buddha at Todaiji Temple
- Deer Park
- 5-story Pagoda (Kofukuji Temple)
This WebQuest will help you prepare for your trip. You’ll be amazed at how much information you can find on the Internet about all the places you will visit.
A good tour needs a
guidebook to the places on the tour. Your WebQuest will take
you to web sites that will give you photos and information on the places you're
going to visit. You will work with a partner and in a group. You
will have two weeks to complete your group’s project, a guidebook to all the
places we will visit. You and your partner will research the sites in one of
the cities we plan to visit, creating a page on each site. You will
combine your pages with the rest of your group’s pages to make your guidebook.
Then you will be ready to enjoy and learn from your trip.
In your group, divide
into partners and decide who will research each city. Then find a map of your
city on the Internet and print it out.
Decide which map you want to use. Mark the places we will visit. If you are
writing the Nara section of your guidebook, find out from your teacher where the
youth hostel is, so you can mark it on the map.
Days 2 - 5
Find photos and background information on each site. Record 3 or more important
historical facts about each. List 3 interesting things we should look for at
each place. Record whatever information is listed below under "resources."
Print out at least one photo of each place.
Days 6-9
Create your pages for the travel guide, one page on each site. Make the
information clear and arrange it attractively. You may type the information or
write (nicely) by hand.
Day 10
Your group will combine its pages to make the booklet. Design a cover page and
put everything together.
Here are some maps to look at for the first day’s assignment. Link to the websites to choose and print out the map you would like to use in your guidebook.
Osaka
http://www.jtb.co.jp/sunrisetour/info/mapo.html
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-577410-map_of_osaka-i
Kyoto
http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~asanoxn/general/kyotomap.htm
http://www.jtb.co.jp/sunrisetour/info/mapk.html
Nara
http://member.nifty.ne.jp/asunara/nara.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/narajet/mappage.html
Look at these websites for information on the places you are researching.
Osaka Castle
You can find some nice photos here.
http://www.reggie.net/album.php?albid=511
Go to the next site to find the main points of the history of the castle. Then tell who built it, why, and what was special about it when it was built. Find out what has been done during the Heisei era (which started in 1989). Find some information – how many floors, what’s inside the castle, price, anything else you think a tourist should know.
http://www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en/castle/mainmenu.htm
Osaka Zoo (Tennoji Park Zoo)
Find some basic information here: when it opened, how many animals, what animals, what train station it’s near, and what its hours are.
http://www.wguides.com/city/114/160_306836.cfm
You can find some photos here for your guidebook.
http://www.geocities.com/geocitiesakura/osakazoophotoalbum.htm
Go here for information about one of the stars of the zoo.
http://www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/news/99-04/hippo.html
Trains in Japan
You can find a nice photo of a train like the ones you will ride at this place.
http://www.shibaura-it.ac.jp/itabashi/stc/_english/jpn-train/
Here’s a picture of the inside of a train station.
http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr29/pdf/ap38_ama.pdf
You can find information about riding the subway in Osaka. Find out how to buy a ticket. Go to “route map” and print it out for your guidebook.
Here is some more information on riding a train.
http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/admissions/student/pdf/B-09.pdf
Kiyomizu Temple
Find information here.
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/intro/trad/isan/kiyomi_e.html
Choose some information that you think would be interesting to others.
http://japan.chez.tiscali.fr/KyotoWeb/E-Kiyomizu.htm
Here are some nice photos that you can print out.
http://www.reggie.net/album.php?albid=518
Nijo Castle
Choose one or two photos to include.
http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/kyoto/nijoindex.htm
Who built it and when? There’s also some important and interesting information in the paragraph that begins “Ironically.” Look in the section labeled “The Tour” and find out about the uguisu bari (nightingale floor) and write about it in your guidebook. What other design features of the castle helped protect the Shogun?
http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/kyoto/nijo.html
Eiga Mura
Under “play,” go to “area map” (written in romaji). Print it out, if you think the students would find it helpful. (You’ll get a map when you get there, too.) Click on several areas to find information or photos. The information is all written in Japanese. If you have a computer at home that reads Japanese, you can use this site to get information.
http://www.toei-group.co.jp/eigamura/index1.htm
You can get other information, in English, from the brochure that your teacher has.
Todaiji Temple and Daibutsu
Tell about Todaiji Temple and the Daibutsu (Big Buddha).
http://www.jinjapan.org/atlas/historical/his13.html
http://www.jgc.co.jp/waza/a1_nara/todaij01.htm
Nara Park
Here are some photos of what you’ll see in Nara Park.
http://www.reggie.net/album.php?albid=511
Go here to find out some information about the park.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4103.html
Pagodas
You’ll see a pagoda in Nara Park. What is a pagoda?
http://www.crystalinks.com/pagadoas.html
Type “pagodas” in a search engine and find out what other countries have pagodas.
EXTRA
Go here for some extra information. You might find something to help you. It's a web site for kids.
http://www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/index.html
Grading for Kansai Quest
|
YOUR POINTS
|
0 |
1-2 |
3-4 |
5-6 |
|
Information - interesting points to note |
You didn’t do the job
|
You tried, but it’s not enough
|
Good, but you could have used more useful information and less unimportant trivia |
Complete information, very helpful for the trip
|
| Information - history and other points listed under "resources" | You didn't include any information | You information but some is incorrect | You included partial information | You gave all the information required |
|
Appearance |
Your pages look sloppy and disorganized.
|
If you’d spent more time on this, it would have looked better
|
Okay, but you could have been a little more careful
|
Nice, neat, clear appearance
|
|
Group work |
You wasted your group’s time and did not do your part.
|
You spent a lot of time visiting instead of working. You got the job done, but there was some arguing. You relied too much on others to do the work.
|
Your group had some problems getting organized and using your time wisely, but you managed to get the job done. You could have been more faithful in doing your part of the work.
|
You were respectful toward each other and divided the work well. You did your job faithfully.
|
Teacher comments
Student Signature ___________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature__________________________________
You should be ready for your trip now. (Be sure to look at the books made by other groups.) You have done a lot of Internet research on this project, which will help you when you have to do research in the future.
In your journal, tell how you think you did on this project. Did you enjoy it? What would you have done differently? Did you stay on schedule? If you got behind, what happened to slow you down? Do you think you had enough time for this project. What did you think of the web sites? Did you find some you would like to add for next year's class? What information did you find outside the resources listed here?
Use your guidebook on your trip. Have a great time! After the trip you will be asked to get together in your group and evaluate your guidebook. Tell how your group's guidebook worked for you. Was there enough information? How did working on this WebQuest help you enjoy the trip and/or understand what you saw and experienced. Have one person write out your group's conclusions.