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.