My most memorable Experience in my GARIOA-Fulbright, Nissan Grant, Senior Research Grant, housed at the Japan Women’s University, was a trip via Bullet Train and boat to a Japanese island (forget the name now) a very traditional Ryokan. The trip was arranged by friends in Japan. It featured robes, traditional meals, and a small Kotatsu for heat, (I still remember it was quite cold in the room, as this Golden Week was quite chilly.)

The Bullet Train experience seemed to me to be quite luxurious. My experience with the boat trip to the island was that it was quite a trip as the sea was so rough that most passengers just laid down on the floor for the entire trip. The  grant was for study of Japanese Management techniques. I understood that at the time very few African-Americans had been a Japan Fulbrighter. I was a Professor at the Hunter College-City University of New York. for the research, I conducted interviews, taught one class, and published some of the results in a U.S. scholarly journal, The Journal of Multicultural Social Work. I still have very fond memories of the entire experience, with several Japanese friends subsequently visiting for several years. When I was back home. we also hosted several Japanese exchange students in subsequent years, while at Southeast Missouri State University. Years later, I still have very fond memories of the experience.

Paul R. Keys – Fulbright to Japan 1991