2010 Day 15 Fish market

The fish market was amazing.  We were glad to wake up early to see this market. Please check out our photo site. Our breakfast is a raw fish bowl.  We visited the kitchen tool street by Asakusa, a big shrine in Asakusa and an american street in Ueno.

Thank you very much for our hostfamlies.

お世話になりました．心より、ありがとうございます．

２０１０年メモリアル高校日本旅行一同

2010 Day 14 Back to Tokyo

After 5 hours Shinakan-sen ride we came back to Tokyo. Some went to Giburi Museum, Some did shopping in Akihabara. Some went back to Odaiba to challenge the famous amusement park. We had dinner together and then some went to Karaoke. 

2010 Day 13 Hiroshima and Miyajima

James

The were a lot of Volleyball players at our hotel. We could not watch

the Nigeria v American match. It was lame. The Shinkansen is fast.

Tommy (Kishaba)

I met up with the class in Hiroshima and went staright to the hostel.

It was a fairly lengthy walk uphill to the surprisingly crowded

building. We watched the world cup for a bit before going to bed and

it was great to see everyone again.

Dani - The first night in the hostel was not a good experience. There

were bugs in our room so Elan and I could not sleep there. Instead, we

slept for about two hours on the couches in the lobby. So, today, I

was too tired too focus much. However, I did manage to focus on the

Horoshima museum. I felt like I shouldn't have been there, but it gave

me time to reflect on the mistakes of the United States. I am very

glad that we went because it was a good history teaching.

2010 Day 12 KyotoFree day

Tommy

Yesterday, I won $240 at pachinko. Today we just kinda wandered around Kyoto, hitting up various temples and shops while making sure to fit in about an hour worth of karaoke. All in all, a very fun, but exhausting, day.

Alex

Today, I hung out with Xai, James, Hakim, Kyoko (James' foriegn exchange student) and her mom, and my host sister, Mai. We first went to a sukiya for breakfast and was really surpirsed when kyoko's mom paid for all of our food. I was so very grateful. We then all went shopping and looked at some random stores. Kyoko and her mom then took us to a really nice tea place and it was super delicious. Again the mom paid for it and would not let us buy our food and tea. It was a lot of fun, my host sister then met up with us and we all went to kareoke and that was a blast! We sang the most random songs and it was amazing! The whole free day in Kyoto was fantastic.

Ron!

Today I went to an underground mall. I bought a lot of presents. I also ate cold soba noodles and a beef bowl with egg and green onion. I did karaoke. They had a lot of popular American bands like Journey andLady Gaga. They also had obscure bands like Enter Shikari, Marilyn Manson, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. They also had oldies such as Led Zepplin, The Beatles, and AC/DC. There was even a song that featured

Se7en!!!

Commodore Elan Jane C. G. Mccallum:

I could begin in a million different ways how today was, but I'll just record it as I remember. Breakfast was at Mickey D's, which, while not the best place to experience Japanese culture, has my favorite fish sandwich outside of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Grazie, Paul, Morgan, and I then went to northwestern Kyoto's Gion district to look for Maiko; success was achieved only because I happened to notice the kimono in the dim light of the shop. After feasting on a hasty conbini lunch we went to a "luxury" karaoke building, where we sang such worldwide, quintessential classics as "God Bless America" and "Girlfriend." All this frivolity tuckered us out, however, so we took an hour long nap on a bus while simultaneously heading to Nijou Castle; the castle was beautiful in a way I can't begin to describe--not unlike how Gackt's looks both perplex and leave me awestruck. Perhaps that sounds like an insult, but it's definitely a compliment; just only slightly back-handed. Regardless, we had more fun than I can say while using an iPod Touch (I have yet to figure out how it works exactly). (PS, the title is a historical joke) (PPS, Caffeine and exhaustion have been doing strange things to me)

Xai

After the free day at Kyoto, we rode the Shinkansen. One train lasted only about 15 minutes. The other, 1 hour and a half. On the train ride everyone was quiet for the most part. Everyone seemed tired and fell asleep, while others roamed the train. After the Shinkansen we took a bus near the foot of a small hill. For being notorious for tiring out students, the hill was easily conquered by this year's students. We are now at the Hiroshima youth hostel with many other Japanese students. Everyone is now watching the England vs Slovenia complaining why the American game isn't on TV.

2010 Day 11 Meditation and Kyoto

Dani - Getting to Kyoto was the most difficult thing for me. I went

around the Osaka loop before finding out that I was on the wrong

train. So, I was about an hour late to arrive. However, I did get to

see everything that the rest of the group did. The water at the Mizu

no Tera was very refreshing. Walking to the San-Ju-Sangen-do temple

was very interesting and fun. It is something I would enjoy doing

again. Temple itself was very intriguing to me. All the statues and

what they stand for was amazing. It was a bit dull at points but

reading about what everything meant made up for that. Overall, Kyoto

is a very enjoyable place so far.

Hakim: Kyoto today so far was really interesting. We saw so many

temples and Buddha statues and it seemed like more of the same at

times but things like the fortune paper and love stone made up for

those times. I had a bad luck fortune but I walked right into the love

stone. At the temple we saw an army of statues and different gods and

that was very interesting and I also got a fortune that said I would

meet someone great and that made up for the bad luck earlier. Now off

to meditation!

2010 Day 9 : Bullet-train to Kyoto

Hakim: We rode the Shinkansen yesterday and I thought it was one of

the greatest methods of transportation. The seats are comfortable and

you can turn your row of seats the other way which I thouht was pretty

cool. It was really smooth throughout the entire ride and we just

chilled eating some snacks that our hostfamilies gave us and it was a

lot of fun. I could also see mount Fuji from it and got some nice

pictures of it from the Shinkansen. Jim Spina and I then met up with

our third hostfamily. The mother rode a scooter and we walked home

with our host sister who is really nice. We went shopping for a bit

then we went back home and made a facebook page for Hiroko, the host

sister, and played Mario Brothers Wii for a bit. It was fun.

Eric: I enjoyed a spaghetti dinner cooked by my host mother and father

and I played my host father's gorgeous guitar. Their house is

gigantic! All in all, it was a fun experience!

Dani - The shinkansen ride was very relaxing. I was very grateful to

sit down and take a rest from carrying the bag around. Then meeting

the family was very interesting to say the least. My host sister was

late in picking me up, but that was quite all right by me. The parents

are very nice and everyone speaks English. They want to practice their

English on me. I am more than fine with that, though. They do have

some different words than the Japanese ones we learned. Nonetheless, I

am more than glad to have the family that I do.

Jim - Yesterday was pretty uneventful though we did get to ride the

shinkansen and meet our new host family. I share a host family and we

were able to get our host sister to make a facebook page. Today we

stopped at the oosaka castle. It was pretty big and I got pictures

with pigeons and an iguana.

Tommy: Oosaka was cool. Some homeless dude had an iguana. Blah blah

blah. Really though, this whole entire country is absolutely

beautiful. I can't really compare it to anywhere else. Even the big

cities, which I usually detest, are unusually clean and have a unique

feel. They also grow a ton of rice.

Elan: I'm continually impressed by Japan

2010 Day 8 : Yokohama hostfamily -2

Xai: I had permission to follow my penpal until whenever. I went to

math class to learn calculus integrals. Although I said not much in

class I paid very well attention. Afterwards I followed her to chorus

club. At first I was reluctant but I eventually sang along. That night

I left home alone and found my way back to my host family's house.

Dani - Going to the high school was really fun. I enjoyed doing the

flower arrangements. My host mother then asked me to remake it for her

so she could take pictures of it. On Saturday, we went to minato

mirai. We did a lot of looking around at stuff that my host sister

thought I would like. When there, I bought a few things to show to my

family and friends. I'm really glad to have spent that time with my

host mother and sister. I am also glad to have gone to my host

sister's track meet. A lot of boys wanted to talk to me and take a

picture with me.

Ron: On Friday night I had sukiyaki. My host sister Megu taught me

kanji after dinner. The next day we went to a bakery and picked up

breakfast. It was very good! A couple of hours later I went to the

Landmark Tower with Megu and my host mom. We went to the Pokemon

Center. It was amazing!!! Afterwards we went to an anime store and a

Hello Kitty store. I helped my host mom make tempura for dinner.

Elan: after school on Friday, my host sister and I played video games

and chatted about our favorite characters. For dinner I helped to make

an unknown fried dish, which was amazingly delicious; we watched the

America soccer match afterwards. Saturday we slept in before going

shopping at a few malls in Yokohama -- accessories being our main

target. Then after hitting up my host-sisters' favorite ramen shop, we

went to China Town and spent an enjoyable time walking around shopping

or looking at the fish in the aquarium. That night we all went out to

dinner in China Town where I had the best Chinese food I've ever had;

when we got home we watched the Japan soccer match. Good experiences

overall.

James P: We saw a lot of cats and surfers at the enoshima. The caves

were very dark and small. The big buddha had lots of Lily leaves made

of copper behind it.

2010 Day 7 Hakuyo High School

Elan:

I was absolutely ready to collapse into whatever was soft and immediately fall asleep when we arrived in Yokohama. The reality of life was, however, that I had to walk up several sloping hills with my host sister/pen pal before arriving at my Yokohama host family's house. Dang. Things picked up after I found that my host sister and I were both really into manga, anime, and Japanese rock music, though, so I was more energetic as I helped make dinner.

Jim- We had some free time in a popular shopping district of Tokyo, found a lot of strange things. Then we took the train from Tokyo to Yokohama and I met up with my new host family. After that we just ate dinner and talked.

Paul: Yesterday we got a lot of free time in Tokyo. A few of us went shopping at a giant mall. After that we left to Yokohama, and it's beautiful here. I met my host brother, who ended up being awesome. Later that night we walked downtown to karaoke, upon arrival Hakim also walked in with his host family. We all sang  karaoke and ate wayyyy too much food! Overall Yokohama rules!

Ron

Yesterday I met my new family. They have two high-school students. I went with the older one, who is 17, and the mom to a conveyor belt sushi. It was very good. I had bacon sashimi. Next we went to a book store, electronic store, and  grocery store.

2010 day 6 Meiji shrine, Harajuku, Shibuya

Alex: today we hung out at Shibuya, a huge shopping district. Xai, Hakim, Jim and I went to a Hawaiian restaurant. At the restaurant as we were leaving Xai overheard the girls talking about me so he asked them if I was cute and they said yes. So I asked them if they wanted a picture with me and they became super excited. It was a very funny experience. We also got lost while trying to find one of the biggest stores in Shibuya, so we asked for directions and all the people gave us different directions. All in all a good start to a day in japan.

Eric: My feet? In shambles, but I tried a new clothing store for the first time

today, and it was extremely enjoyable!

Tommy- we arrived at this high-school today. It's very interesting, you could say. I basically just talked with my host family all night, which is cool by me, considering they have much to share. My host dad surfs and is an avid cuttlefish enthusiast!

2010 Day 8 : Yokohama hostfamily -1

Morgz: My free day with my host family was a lot of fun. Woke up to

yet another delicious breakfast; though I forget the name. We left

shortly thereafter and went to Ofuna and met up with Tommy and his

host family. From there, we went to Yokohama - which was gorgeous.

Scenery and atmosphere just as San Francisco. We went to the

Mitsubishi Technology museum - fascinating. Saw historical and

futuristic scale models from space ships to war ships, as well as

learned a ton. Afterwards we went to the Yokohama Landmark Tower,

supposivly the tallest in Japan, beautiful view of the area, even

Tokyo. Then we went to a giant mall at the bottom, and visited the

Pokemon Center and Jump Store. So rad so rad. Then off to China Town,

for a delicious meal. My host sister and I then went back to Fujisawa,

visited the Shonan beach which is comparable to a clean and friendly

Santa Monica Beach. We hung out, then went to the Onsen (hot baths).

Then we returned home and watched Japan lose. Sad. Woke up today and

went to Enoshima, a rad island. Great great.

Paul: I spent the day with my host brother, Hakim, and my host

brother's friend. We walked through Yokohama and went to Chinatown,

where I purchased a dragon ball! Afterwards we walked over to the

mitsubishi science museum, which was rather interesting. We also took

many trains to get to enoshima, which hands down was my favorite place

i've seen yet. It had a very strange vibe to it, Almost eerie. While

there we climbed to the top and on our way we saw soo many cats

roaming freely through the forest. It was strange to say the least.

Eric: Woke up to an amazing breakfast, and I got to go to the high

school, super fun! The lunch my host mom made for me was so good and I

got to go out after school with my host sisters friends! Tanoshikatta!

Saturday me and my host sisters did karaoke then after that we went

shopping in downtown Yokohama. We went home and reminisced about our

time together and they gave me a beautiful photo album with all of our

events. A great end to a fantastic homestay!

Hack 'em: Yesterday was probably the coolest things so far. With my

host sister, Paul, his hostbrother, and his friend, we went to

Chinatown where we ate some wierd stuff and bought some souvenirs. We

then went to the Mitsubishi science museum and saw a robot that

responded to things you said in Japanese and I shook its hand. We then

saw a street performer and he did some really crazy things like

juggling fire on a unicycle. Then we went to enoshima where we saw

tons of cats everywhere and did a bunch of rituals and went to the top

of the tower and finally we went to the beach. Fun stuffff...

Alex: I loved my Yokohama host family so much. My host mom was a lot

like my real mother. Yesterday I spent the day with my host father and

he took me to the Yokohama harbor, then we went to the landmark tower

(tallest building in Yokohama) and that was super cool and it was very

pretty. We then met my host mom in chinatown and had dinner, it was

super delicious. We then returned home and my host mom and I made

yakesoba. My host brother and I then watched the Japanese soccer game.

All in all it was very fun.

2010 Day 5 Imperial Palace and Odaiba

Paul: today we headed to the imperial palace, it was pretty rad, but my feet are killing me now. I also went to uni qlo, and I got an awesome shirt that helps with the steamy weather. The scenery is incredible. Also, the beach is

beautiful, it's probably one of the best sights I've seen!

Dani- The palace was very pretty. All of the flowers and trees were gorgeous. I'm sure that all the pictures taken there will turn out great. Then the car show was interesting to say the least. The futuristic cars were the best. Very imaginative.

Alex: today we went to the imperial palace and saw a beautiful garden! We all took many pictures and had a great time. Later on in the day we went out and spent the night in Tokyo. This was one of the best nights I have spent in japan, Xai and I did ninja warrior. That was very entertaining, and the guy working the station was very enthusiastic. The whole day was a great experience and I absolutely love Tokyo.

Xai

Yesterday at the water it was spectacular. At first, mine and Alex's goal was to find Mcdonalds. We were lost for quite some time but asked our way around. We approached a weird back door and went up to the fourth floor. There we found ninja warrior sasuske and had a blast failing.

Ron

Yesterday I ate at Mos Burger. It had the best burger I ever ate! I had the

spicy burger. It had onions, peppers, mayo, a huge slice of tomato, and ocurry. Later that day I had a sandwich with a breaded salmon fillet. I also had a cheese burger. The food here is amazing!!

Hakim

Yesterday went to the imperial palace and saw some beautiful scenery but the fact that I had to walk in hard flip flops the entire time was murder on my feet. I bought some nice souvenirs in the big plaza and rode the train around Tokyo.

James

The harbor was really pretty from the top of the ferris wheel also the water

near the statue of liberty was really pretty. we got some really profound pics

also the old car museum had a dolareon super awesom

2010 Day 4 Nakano Elementary School

Xai: Today playing with the elementary kids was amazing. They are wonderful at playing all sports. They work as a team and they cheer very strongly for their teammates. The Japanese has something to teach the everyone.

Eric: The kids treated us like Hollywood superstars! Haha they were so happy to see us. Alex got mobbed by about twenty little first graders during lunch. The food was delicious, as usual, and the kids were super fun to play soccer with! Those kids are super good at soccer! It was high schoolers versus the kids and they STILL beat us! After that, I played soccer with my host brothers and had traditional ramen for the first time! Oishikatta ne!

2010 Day 3 Daruma and Sushi

[In the morning we walked to the Daruma workshop where they make the traditional papier-mâché good-luck figures. Then we went to Kasukabe for sushi on a conveyor belt and had some free time afterwards.] 

Tommy

Today, we went to the daruma factory! Daruma are pretty rad, and they also serve as a cheap souvenir. However, it seems that everything here is much more appreciable in the experience, as are most things in life. Byebye! Kaiten sushi time!

Jim-today we went to paint daruma. After that we had some conveyor belt sushi and stopped by a Japanese mcdonalds located in the basement of a 5 story store After that Dani, Ron, and I went to my host mothers private school and played some games with the kids there.

Dani - daruma making was really interesting. Very difficult to do everything

correctly. I was surprised at how bad of a job I did at painting the face on. It

was fun nonetheless. I can't wait to see what is in store for the rest of the

trip.

Alex: the daruma factory that we went to was very cool. I really enjoyed

painting my daruma, even though I am bad at painting. His house was super cool,I also enjoyed the kaiten sushi. It was a very nice experience and really differet but it was very good. The free time that we had was also very fun,we went to wondergoo, and a sports store. The people here never cease to amaze me with their willingness to help us and their kindness.

2010 Day 2 First day with hostfamily

Eric: oh man, it has been so fun! My host family and I went to the mall and I bought my Japanese guitar! My host family has been great so far, and tonight we are going to watch the world cup! The food is good, my host brothers are the best-behaved children I have ever met, and this is shaping up to be a great trip!

Hakim: the first full day with my hostfamily was fantastic. My host brother's interest in soccer was a great surprise and we played a game of soccer with his team. I signed an autograph for one of them and i felt so flattered. We then went to the mall and ate ramen and I bought some souveniers. So much has happened and I can't believe it's only the first day.

Alex: yesterday I woke up to a wonderful meal, and hung out with the host

family. Then we went to a park and had a picnic. Then we went to a hundred yen [$1] store and looked around. We also did print club and then we went to an onnsen. We came back and hung out and ate dinner.

Ron

We went for a walk in the morning. After that we went to an art supplies store and two clothes stores. Next we went to a ramen shop, then to a 100 yen shop. I bought many Hello Kitty things. The end.

Elan: of all the things we could have done, we did the best. First we went to anosenbei [rice cracker] factory, where my host dad called me an "osenbei master"!ahaha, it was hilarious. After that we went to lunch and then a seriously large mall. I'm really looking forward to what happens next!!

2010 Day 1 Yes ! We are in Japan

Yes, we are in Japan!

By Everyone

The weather is an incredible shame, but the scenery makes up for it. Can’t wait for more! Dani

The flight was long but we didn’t get in a crash or anything. It’s humid here. Jim

Oudes, the plane is rad. So is Japan.  Tommy

The airport is the calmest quietest I’ve seen. People are quiet in the bus but we are loud. Xai

Japan is sweet, I love how all the people are super friendly. On the plane Xai and I talked to a guy named Akira for hours Then at the airport we took pictures with police officers, did they were all super nice.  Alex

Dude, Japan is the best. Hey to all back home Eric

It’s really humid here!  There is lot of rules, but people dress very nice. I miss you guys.  Ron

There is a lot more English than I thought, weird colors, awesome! James

YES ! Hakim

Before my eyes a new world has blossomed; I am drinking in the sight. Sadly the non metaphorical blossoms here are wilted and dying.  Elan

Utopia. This country is everything America should be; at least as far as airports and bus rides Morgan

Long plane ride, but Japan rules! I can’t wait for more! Paul