Early on the morning of October 15, 2015, nine ASIJ students traveled by train to Yokota High School. There, the annual Kanto Plains High School Brain Bowl Tournament awaited them.

The Brain Bowl tournament is a round robin style tournament where teams are asked a variety of general knowledge questions. These questions usually include math, science, history, geography, Japan studies, English and current events. Teresa Haberstroh (Grade 11), Won Jun Ryu (Grade 11) and Everett Xu (Grade 9) were the ASIJ All-Star recipients, among the top fifteen students who answered the most questions during the tournament. The ASIJ team also included Karen Aoki (Grade 9), Alec Blagg (Grade 10), Leah Gesling (Grade 9), Aishwarya Kumar (Grade 10), Yuka Ma (Grade 10) and Zen Suzuki (Grade 9).

Not only is accuracy a requirement, but speed and reflexes are also major necessities in doing well in these competitions. Ending in fourth place with 570 points, the ASIJ brain bowl team displayed impressive skill after their three-year hiatus. Zen Suzuki, stated that “Although a lot of the questions were challenging, it was very fun overall.” The brain bowl team is cooperative and has greatly enjoyed this year’s competition. They are looking forward to continuously participating in the following years. (Yuka Ma and Aishwarya Kumar)