shimoyoshida jr high, pagodas, flowers and springs

We had a great day at Shimoyoshida Jr High. There are a few host family students there so it was nice to see some familiar faces. The school was extremely welcoming and the kids got to take part in a number of activities, including recreation, english, japanese, maths, art and a presentation at the end of the day that was very accomplished. The school had gone out of their way to make us feel at home - great stuff.

We were picked up by Kazuko, Seichi, Sanada, Hiroshi and some parents and were taken to the pagoda that sits on a hill overlooking Fujiyoshida. Even though we drove to the top, there were a group of 10 students keen to go to the bottom and climb the steps, so much to our hosts amusement and possibly disbelief, we did it. A total of 491 according to Morgan and Robbie. The pagoda at the top is a monument to the veterans and victims of WW2. Unfortunately, the weather was not good, so we didn't get an awesome view of Fuji-san.

After that we went to have a look at the flower dome, where the locals showed us what they jokingly call the 'Japanese Niagara Falls', before heading to Oshino's eight natural springs.

fujikyu highland

What can I say? Awesome weather, awesome day, and half deaf from screaming students! We were very lucky to be accompanied by Mika Takamura, who came to NZ for the exchange in March. On more than a couple of occasions, she pulled some strings with some engineers (including the chief engineer) to get us a look at how the coasters work, how they are maintained, and most importantly, turned a 2 hour wait time into a 5 minute wait to get on the ride. Many of the kids overcame their fears and tried some of the coasters that are world record holders. Some of the quotes of the day included, 'I think I might have wet myself,' and, 'I wish I hadn't had the chicken curry for lunch!'

There was a great photo taken on Fujiyama, once the highest coaster in the world at 79metres, of Harry, Robbie, Jack and Tallulah... the expressions are priceless. So much so a few of them bought the photo. When we get back to NZ, hopefully we can scan it and share it.

Rest assured, everyone will sleep well tonight!

fujigaekan jr high, sweets, ice-cream and 100yen

today we visited the very impressiveand very new fujigaekan jr high school. After joining up with the senior school for meditation, we returned to the jr high school for a series of lessons in which we interacted with the japanese students... music, english and origami. we ate lunch together and then the kids performed for each other. Shannon and India did a fabulous job with their speeches. The performance was so popular, that after the boys completed a mean haka, the call of 'encore' came from the crowd and the kids had to repeat the entire performance again! Carolyn captured it all on video so you will get the chance to see the kids in action upon our return.

After the school visit, our guide Yuka took us to a local japanese sweet maker. He taught the kids the tricks of the trade and all the students created a rather flash set to take home to you all. I can assure you they all washed their hands, so the food should be safe to eat!

After that, Yuka took us to her 'tea shop' for ice cream. Most kids tried the green tea option... A decision that Fern and Olivia regretted. With no bins anywhere in sight, and the streets in immaculate condition, they had no option but to finish them... it was like watching an episode of fear factor, only longer. I won't tell a lie, I thought it was hilarious! The kids were then let loose in the 100 yen shop. Fujikyu highland tomorrow and the weather looks OK, should be a great day!

Fire Festival & Welcome Party

Fire Festival

The heavy rain arrived about an hour before the Fire Festival was due to begin. And did it rain - bucket loads of it! Despite this all our girls arived beautifully adorned in Kimono and looking gorgeous. After many photos the students were given an hour to explore the festival. The rain was so heavy that even umbrellas were insufficient to keep you dry. Surprisingly though, the rain did not douse the fires nor the students enthusiasm. After about an hour at the festival, the students went home to dry off. Tomo, our host, told us that it was the first time it had rained like that at the Fire Festival for 20 years. I was very proud of the way ALL the students took the weather conditions in their stride - maybe it has something to do with being Welingtonians!

Welcome Party

The Welcome Party was held on Saturday night with many of the students arriving in clothes they had purchased during the day. Once again all the students looked fabulous. As part of the celebration the students needed to perform, for the first time in Japan, their waiata and haka. They did a great job with the boys' haka going down particularly well.

Tomorrow we visit our first school.

zen buddhist temple and more...

A hot day today, and it's not over yet as we go to the fire festival at 7pm. unfortunately it has started to pour down!

We spent the morning at a zen buddhist temple with the monk Yoshihito. The temple dates back 600 years, although it burnt down and had to be rebuilt when Fuji-san erupted 300 years ago. Yoshi taught us zen mediation and traditional Japanese calligraphy. Some of the kids were naturals! We then walked to the Sengen Jinja temple, site of the fire festival ceremony before heading to a park gifted by the emperor to the people for lunch... In the heat, I think it would be safe to say that a few of the kids found it hard going! We then saw the tide turn on the trend we have seen in recent days... toilet stops are out, vending machines are in. I think that our kids may account for half the sugar consumption in Japan!

After lunch we walked to the radar museum and then the Fujiyoshida visitor centre before returning for our host families to prepare for the fire festival.

an apology...

Please excuse the mistakes in some of the blog posts! I have been trying to do them on a tablet device, and at times I am getting cut off with no ability to access the latter parts of the post for further editing. I'll keep working on it. The kids are having a great time, and today have the fire festival to look forward to.

glass factory, hotofudo, bat caves, aquarium

Much of the itinerary has been rearranged because of the weather. It was hosing down today until 3pm!

We began the day at the glass factory. The kids had a range of activities to choose from, including jewellery making, candle making and glass sandblasting. They seemedto really enjoy it and made some fantastic souvenirs.

After the glass factory, it was time for lunch, and wetravelled to Hotofudo restaurant, a very old building that once upon a time hosted samurai. We ate a traditional samurai meal... and some paninis!

In the afternoon, the rain cleared up a bit and we ventured to the bat caves. Althoughit wasn't raining outside, the porous nature of the volcanic ground meant it was raining on the inside. Hard hats and umbrellas in a cave... quite the sight!

Next was the aquarium, an amazing network of tanks showing off varieties of large salmon, trout, and the popular sturgeon. Not as popular, however, as the playground outside the building. The roller side proved to be most of the student's favourite attraction.

Tomorrow

we're here pt 2

after a 1 hour round trip, and several more toilet stops, we headed back down the mountain to the environmental sciences building. After a bushwalk looking at some of fuji-san's flora and fauna, we watched a 35 minute video on mt fuji... during which half of us, including yours truly, fell asleep!

That concluded a long but thoroughly enjoyable day. Tomorrow we are expecting rain so there has been a change of schedule. We will be visiting the glass factory before heading to the petrified forest and bat cave.

Just to put a few minds at ease, a lot of the kids have been having issues with calling cards. Most will have tried to email parents if they have been unable to get through by phone, we will continue to try and work through this. All the kids are in good spirits. We have been experiencing the odd technical difficulty, so if we can't get any photo's attached to this blog, I will try and email some photo's through.

Have a good evening,

We're here!

We arrived at Narita airport safe and sound if not a little late from a delay in Auckland and headwinds all the way. We were struck by the heat and humidity as soon as we stepped off the plane. Tracksuits, whilst great on the plane were no longer the popular choice of attire.

The drive to Fujiyoshida was a long one but was a good opportunity to see some of Tokyo's highlights by night and for the kids to get their first taste of local roadside cuisine. Some interesting purchases to say the least. Many kids chose to try Pocari Sweat and Aquarius - Japanese drinks that are great for keeping hydrated. We rolled into Fujiyoshida at around 9.30pm and it was a late night for most after what was a long day.

We began today at the Fuji visitors centre before driving to the 5th station which is around 2000m elevation. We had lunch at a local restaurant - a Japanese curry... probably not to everyone's taste, but being from the north-east of England, I certainly enjoyed it!

After the 25th toilet stop of the day we began the climb to station 6. unfortunately it was pretty cloudy which meant that the view wasn't great, but climbingthe volcanic landscape was great fun.

Still Packing!!!!

9 hours out from when we need to be checking in and I am still packing. I hope I don't forget anything!!

Ready to go

Excited and ready to go.
Off for a sleep now. 5am check-in at Wellington airport.
Wish us luck!

Welcome!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the blog for the Japanese Exchange 2011. Hopefully, the kids, Carolyn and myself will have opportunities to update this blog regularly whilst in Japan so you can get a bit of a feel for how things are going... Enjoy!