DHAMPUS: Sixteen Japanese tourists, all of them in their 60s, spent the whole day today playing with the students of Gyanodaya Primary School in Dhampus-9, Kaski. Fifty years back, all these foreign tourists attended primary classes at Matshumoto High School in Japan. 'We played with the children, bringing back our childhood memories,' said Dr Takaji Yamaguchi. This is the 30th visit of the chairman of Buddha Foundation Japan. He used to visit the country to perform social work on behalf of the Foundation. This time around, he decided to bring along his childhood friends. Yamaguchi knows a lot about the Annapurna region. “Attracted by the beauty of Nepal, I urged my friends to visit the country,” he said.Some decades ago, Japan was an agricultural country like Nepal. Childhood of the then Japanese was spent the same way like that of the Nepalis today. ''We walked to school bare-footed and there were no modern schools,' recalled Yuko, another team member. ''Our time here reminds us of our childhood,' said the Tokyo University professor. The tourists also established a school library at a cost of Rs 160,000, besides establishing a scholarship fund of Rs 40,000. Local Jagan Bahadur Gurung said the villagers had taken an initiative for the establishment of the library. The group would be assisting other schools in the district during their nine-day trip, he added. 'The books are interesting,' said third grader Manoj BK.