Central College’s Central RED Society will present “Finding Different Japans Through Walk Japan Ltd.” with Tom Stanley Wednesday, July 14, in the Boat Moore Weller Room in the Maytag Student Center.
A Japanese dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. for $15, and a cash bar will be available. The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. Membership in Central RED is required to attend.
Walk Japan provides authentic tours to discover Japan, its people, society and culture. Beginning in 1992, they were the first to successfully introduce the real Japan, geographically and culturally, that often remains inaccessible for most visitors to the country. Since then, Walk Japan has created more original tours throughout Japan and been widely recognized for its work, including selection by National Geographic as one of the 200 Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth. This course will dive into the origins and development of a company with defined goals well beyond those of a traditional travel company.
Stanley was born into a family with connections to China rather than Japan. His parents were also professionally engaged with China, which led to imprisonment during World War II by the Japanese. Stanley’s father was a diplomat and accepted a post in Japan, where they stayed for five-and-a-half years. This background led to an interest in Japan and a Ph.D. in modern Japanese history, followed by university positions throughout Asia from 1979-2008 in Japan, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong.
Stanley semi-retired in Pella in 2008 with his wife, Susan Kuyper. He continued to travel frequently to Japan to lead tours until the coronavirus pandemic halted travel in 2020. He will begin tours again in 2021 or 2022.
Central RED (Ready to Engage and Discover) is a volunteer-driven, lifelong learning and social organization with an abiding partnership with Central alumni and friends who wish to share knowledge, talents and experiences. Members pay $20 annually to join Central RED.
No affiliation with Central College is required to join. For more information, visit www.central.edu/red or contact Mary Benedict by email at benedictm@central.edu or phone at 641-628-7641.
