Today we headed home after all of our hard work leading toward a wonderful final concert, and then celebrating with a final banquet and closing ceremony.

We loaded our gear into a truck and loaded ourselves into a bus. After a long ride through traffic and some pit stops, we finally arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. With the bells, it’s always an ordeal getting through airports. Luckily, we allowed plenty of time.

Despite a bit of a delay taking off (just before 2 relatively minor earthquakes hit the Tokyo area), we endured a 13+ hour flight before landing safely at JFK Airport.

We then boarded our bus and arrived at Emanuel Lutheran around 10:30 pm to find many friends and loved ones waiting to welcome us home.

It was certainly a memorable trip. We loved absorbing Japanese culture, while gaining a better appreciation for our own. Clearly the theme of the trip was bringing peace to the world through music. That message was especially poignant in Japan, where the memories of war still echo almost everywhere we went.

Now we look forward to the next symposium in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2026!