Day 19: Our Last day in Japan!

 ホストファミリーの皆様ありがとうございましたThank you so much ！We appreciate it very much!

Last day with hostmfamily.

After sensei's speech, Mr. Takamura perform  " A closing ound of applause " ( 一本締め）

Ivan, Lucas, Jamison and Amelia did" Jyanken" to get  a Handmade Hyoshigi( Wooden Clapper) .

This clapper is made by Sakura Tree. It is very special 

 

Ivan Won this !! Congratulations! 

Last thoughts of the Japan Trip !

Ivan:   I really enjoyed the Japan trip even though it was scalding hot for most the days it didn’t ruin how cool all the views were it just made it feel more worth while to make it to each destination.

Amelia: I think that Japan was a very beautiful country and I will miss all the people I've met and things I've done here. I hope that one day I can return again. 

Jasmine:This trip was very eye opening and I enjoyed every experience!! From climbing the mountains to shrines to karaoking with friends, everything was awesome and I’m glad I got to travel here! I hope to come again!

Leo:The Japan trip was very fun, I had very many new experiences. I’m glad that I got to immerse myself in the culture over the past 3 weeks.

Madeline: I think the trip was really fun, and although it was really hot, Japan was really beautiful. My favorite part was Miyajima and I really hope I can return one day!

Maipriya:The trip was very interesting, especially with the silly fun filled group we were with. Even though things felt a bit rushed, I tried my best to savor every moment as much as I could. 

Hazel:  Visiting Japan was such a life-changing and unforgettable experience. I'm so happy we got to see so many different amazing sites all across Honshu. I loved learning about Japanese culture firsthand and staying with my host families. I really hope I can visit again one day!

Lucas:Japan was super fun, I loved being able to look at all the temples and the shrines. Everything was so cool and I loved being able to experience the culture with our host families. The food and drinks were amazing too and super different from America. Overall it was very enjoyable and an amazing experience.

Jamison :I thought the japan trip had its moments, but it didn’t feel too different from America. It was beautiful and i loved spending time with the host families, but in the group portion of the trip i didn’t learn or experience much of the Japanese culture at least not as much as i wanted to.

Sebastian: Japan has been an incredible trip that I could only dream of before. I experienced many fun things, ate delicious foods, and saw incredible views.

Zak:The Japan Trip was very eventful for all 20 days. The large amount of activities and experiences related to their culture that we had during the trip was something to look forward to and I’ll miss the time here.

Elliana:The Japan trip was the greatest time of my life. I got to see and experience the most beautiful views and culture. I will never forget the memories I shared with my host family, classmates, and everyone who made the trip so special. I hope I can come back!

Day 18 Part 2: Team Lab Experience in Toyosu

 Zak: After we went to Tokyo Skytree we took a train to Shin-Toyosu in order to make our way over to teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM. 

There we saw several artworks that we got to experience with our own bodily sensations. They were separated into four areas being Water, Air, Garden, and Forest. For some of these areas we had to take off our shoes and socks in order to have the full experience of the artwork.

Examples of some artworks would be walking up a stair of water, bouncing in a room made of clouds, even bringing our artworks to life! There was several rooms that played off of our sensation. There was a room that made it feel like we were rotating while flowers fell on us! 

Overall the teamLabs experience was amazing and I would recommend going there again. After teamLabs we went back to the Odaiba mall area to do some final shopping before we fly back home.

Day 18 Part 1: Tokyo Skytree

View from the top  Tokyo Sky Tree

Elliana: This morning we woke up early and took the train to see the Tokyo Skytree! It was incredibly big, and had many different stores and cafes you could visit inside. Once we were inside, we took a very fast elevator to get to the top viewing deck (600 meters per minute)! 

Once we were at the top, the view was beautiful. You could see all of Tokyo, and even walk on a glass floor to see beneath you. There were also several shops on the viewing deck to buy souveniers. After the viewing deck, we had a bit of free time to go shopping in the Sky Tree. It was so amazing to explore! Once we were done, we headed back down and had the rest of the day for free time :)

Day 17: Hostfamily day again

 Zak:Today we went shopping at Aeon Mall in the morning. Afterwards I helped make udon noodles for dinner and met up with Jasmine and Leo’s host family to do fireworks together.

Jasmine: Today we went to Æon Mall laketown!! It was super big with lots and lots of stores, we shopped for a really long time! Afterwards we went to Zak’s host family house and did fireworks with Zak and Leo’s host family!!

Hazel: In the morning, I went with my host sister Sana to Shibuya to go clothes shopping. Then, in the afternoon, my host family met up with Ellie's to visit the miniature pig cafe! 

Afterward, we all went shopping at the Aeon Mall and then returned home for dinner.

Ellianna:This morning my host family and I went to the onsen, it was so relaxing, they also had an all you can eat buffet! Afterwards, we went to go meet up with Hazel and her host family to go to the mini-pig cafe in Aeon Mall. They were so cute and just snuggled the whole time. Finally, we did some shopping around Aeon Mall, and I stocked up on Japanese candy and snacks to share with my friends and family at home.

Madeline:Today we went to my host family’s friend’s house where we swam, ate Nagashi Somen, planted rice, and played card games together. Then we went to Aeon Mall where we played crane games and ran into Amelia’s family. With Amelia’s host family we went shopping for a while then returned home. At home we celebrated my host brother Dai’s birthday with a family friend. It 

Then we went to Aeon Mall where we played crane games and ran into Amelia’s family. With Amelia’s host family we went shopping for a while then returned home. At home we celebrated my host brother Dai’s birthday with a family friend. It 

Jamison :Today me and my host family went to book off and shopped for groceries. After we got back we played jenga, made sushi, and did some fireworks.

Amelia :Today, we met up with their cousins and ate lunch together. Afterward, we went to the mall where I ran into Maddy. After we left the mall we went to the thrift store

Lucas: Today me and my host family went grocery shopping after playing uno. Then we ate lunch at an Okinowan resteraunt, the food was very good and we even had a kind of donut from Okinawa! 

We then went and checked out the outer central drainage network, we couldn't go in to see but the exhibit and explanation were very interesting. Next we went to a giant kite exhibition, there was history, processes of making them, as well as many videos and facts. Finally we went to their grandparents house and made and ate Yakiniku for dinner, it was very fun and very delicious!

Day 16: Asakusa and Akihabara

Asakusa  : in front of " Hello Kitty " Store 

Breakfast at Mr. Donut.

Day 15: Back to Tokyo, Ghibli Museum and Karaoke

  We left Hiroshima at 6 am to be back to Tokyo by Shinkansen 

Eat at  サイジェリア

Maipriya：We first rode the bullet train for 5 hours from Hiroshima to Tokyo. After, we went to eat Saizeriya which offered various Italian cuisine. Once we finished, we walked to the kitchen street . The kitchen street consisted many kitchenwares and unique ceramics. However, the highlight of the day was heading to the studio Ghibli museum. Inside were numerous original drawings from the creator himself, film used to produce such movies, and showcases of different movies.

Kitchen Street! （かっぱ橋）

Finally Totoro museum. Everyone has a ton of fun! There is no photo is allowed in museum.

We stayed at the newest capsule hotel .  We saw the nice view of Tokyo Sky tree. 

Leo:After the Ghibli museum, we went to a very nice restaurant in which we were served an array of food to choose from. There was gyudon, fries, chicken and many other tasty foods on the table, it was a lot to eat but still a good time. After dinner, we went out as a group to karaoke and we all sang together. Everybody got to choose a few songs they knew well to put into the line up and we sang as well as we could. None of us ended up being all too talented but it didn’t matter, it was very fun to experience. At the end of the night we retired to our capsule hotel where we got to experience a new kind of hotel experience In the surprisingly spacious pods.

and Sensoji-Temple

We had a fun Karaoke Time( Sorry for no pictures!) Everyone loves Karaoke!!

Day 14 Part 2: Miyajima and Okonomiyaki (Japanese style pancake)

Jasmine In the afternoon we took a ferry to   Miyajima Island. 

 where we saw Miyajima Shrine! It was high tide so we couldn’t walk to it but the view to it in the water was beautiful!!

We had a break at a famous sweet shop. They make Momoji Manjyu(Maple shape pancake with fillings) . 

 There were two shrines on the island that we visited, one being more traditional, and the other being a little more fun. 

 .Itsukushima -Shrine is the first shrine that we visited.

Daisyo-inn

 We then walked up hill to the,Daishyo-in(大聖院） 

We saw lots of statues of different gods and explored the temple hill where there were fortunes and lots of smaller shrines. 

We then got an hour to explore ourselves and to take pictures with the shrine gate by the ocean. 

We then headed towards Hiroshima to go eat Okonomiyaki. All of us got the same Okonomiyaki that had bean sprouts, sliced cabbage, pork, and soba noodles in between the egg and flour mixture. 

 It was very delicious and we got to try the Hiroshima way of Okinomiyaki. After that we had a little time to ourselves to shop the small shopping district before heading back to our youth hostel to pack up for the night