Prince William families welcome young students visiting from Japan

Nineteen young Japanese visitors, all jabbering in their native language, file off a bus, and descend into the food court entrance at Potomac Mills mall.

Young American Daniel Phipps, 13, of Montclair, escorts three Japanese students through the mall (later they're joined by another, who broke off from a group of girls).

Daniel finds it difficult to communicate with the Japanese students, despite Yuto Tamaoki's decent grasp of English.

Still, their faces say everything: they're enjoying their visit.

The Japanese children are in the United States for a week, as part of the Yaotsu Cultural Exchange. This program is for students to learn about Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania who saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. Sugihara was from Yaotsu.

While here, the students speak with a Holocaust survivor and visit the Holocaust Museum. They live in Prince William County with host families and have a chance to sightsee. This is the third year, locally, for the program.

Earlier in the morning they heard a Holocaust survivor speak.

"It was good to hear how someone could live through something like that, come back and still have a positive attitude," Daniel said.

Daniel does his best as a guide. He's not really sure what they want. Gifts, they tell him, but as for what, it's a bit sketchy. They stop in American Eagle, but it's not quite what they're looking for.

Inspiration strikes.

"Would you like to go to the Disney store?" Daniel says. "Mickey Mouse?"

That's a bust too, even if 14-year-old Takeshi Ishihara seems interested in a comb and they run into some girls from their program.

They try K.B. Toys. Takeshi and Tomonori Furuta, both 15, are so excited to see video games they walk behind the register to get a better look.

Daniel explains they can't do this.

There's not much luck here, though, but Daniel's not deterred. He says he knows what they want.

"They're looking for… uhhh… things," Daniel says.

Finally, they come to a store called Five Below, which sells merchandise for $5 or less. They spend time at the T-shirt table, looking for souvenir shirts with English screen printing. They all grab a couple, nonsensical shirts with pictures of Popeye playing baseball or with slogans like "Peace and Love" or "Trust Me I'm A Doctor."

After what seems like an hour of sifting through T-shirts (more like 30 minutes), Yuto, 15, tells Daniel they'd like to see an American bookstore.

Daniel takes them to Books A Million.

"Whoa," the Japanese students say as they walk into the bookstore, overwhelmed with American books.

They make a beeline to the Manga section and pour over English translations of their favorite comics. Tomonori's a big fan of a book called "Naruto."

"He has all those stories in his memory," Yuto says.

"Naruto" costs $7.95, which is a lot more than the $3 price tag in Japan, Tomonori says.

Then, they see the shelves of American comics.

"Star Wars, Star Wars," Tomonori says.

But that's about it for the American comics. Soon, they're back to the Manga (Tomonori ultimately buys the book), and then, marvel at how a Harry Potter book costs $15 here but $40 back home.

They spend some more time in the store near the checkout, selecting pens and key chains as gifts for friends. After short stops at the Gap and the Nike Factory Store, it's time to get back on the bus.

"It's been good," Daniel says of his time with the Japanese students. "I like it. It's been really fun hanging out with people from a different culture."

Staff writer Josh Eiserike can be reached at 703-878-8072.