Paige Cottingham-Streater, Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation, and Toshihiro Hagiwara, 14th generation tree specialist, at Hagiwara Tree Laboratory in Saitama. The Friendship Blossoms dogwood trees are under Mr. Hagiwara’s care as they await their plantings.

Joelle Metcalfe studied abroad as a Bridging Scholar at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto during the 2009-2010 year. She has written a guest blog post talking about her time in Japan, her professional and linguistic development, and how the Bridging Scholarship played a role in her life.