Day9: Yokohama Hostfamily

 Luke：I visited a small shrine in Kamakura and also dressed up in a traditional kimono

Ian and Kaiden : We went to go to the cup noodle museum, then went to go out to an all you can eat

Eden:we went out to an udon restaurant for lunch then visited a shrine in Kamakura where we saw a wedding take place.

Koby:My host family's friend and I went on a rickshaw ride. We also visited the Big Buddha

Natlie:  My host family and I got match flavored desserts on Komachi street. Then we went to Tsurugaoka Hachimanga shrine, where I made an ema prayer plaque and got a fortune (omikuji).

Aisha:In the morning I visited Enoshima where I entered a cave, saw a few shrines, and took a boat back from the island. After that, I met up with my host sister, Brianne, and Brianne’s host sister. We had taiyaki and then visited Kamakura, went to a shrine, and then the big Kamakura Buddha statue.

Brianne:In the morning I visited a couple shrines and one temple with my host family. Then I met up with Aisha and her host sister and we went to more shrines. When me and my host sister went home, we had played card games and Mario Cart. I had a lot of fun spending time with everyone!

Stuart:We went to the tallest building in Yokohama, we saw the entire city, it was very beautiful. Then we went to China town and ate some lunch.

Taniesha: In the morning, we went shopping and walked around the popular streets of Kamakura. Then we went to one of the famous shrines and afterwards we stopped and grabbed a light lunch and headed over to a dog café.

Day 8: High School Class and activities

Today, we went to Hakuyo High School with our host siblings since this is their school. 

We greeted the staff at teachers' meeting and gave our gift.

English class; small group talk. 

We showed our photos and moved from group to group.

We made origami and Japanese creamy sparkle sweets!

In Physics class, we did a demonstration showing why the sunset is red. 

We shared what we learned.

Our host family made Bento lunch for us!

After lunch we went to the chemistry room so do some density experiments. 

Our teams helped a lot in explaining the steps. 

In Mr. Washino's English class, we had a quiz comparing Wisconsin and Yokohama. It was very interesting.

We also played with Kendama game.

We did lots of after-school activities: 

Calligraphy club, Japanese competitive Karte card club, 

Kendo practice, and tea ceremony.

At Kendo practice, the host brother was very brave to let us hit his chest protector with the bamboo practice swords!

Then we went home with our host brother or sister. 

We are looking forward to two days with High School students and families in Yokohama!

Day 7 Part 2: High school welcome party

In the afternoon we went to Hakuyo High School, where we were to meet our Yokohama host families. The school’s student council prepared a welcome ceremony for us! 

We performed the presentation we prepared, introduced ourselves, and then they told us who we would be matched with for host families. 

Afterwards, we had snacks, drinks, and got to know our host siblings! Then we all took a picture together and went home with our host families (and leftover snacks).

Day 7 Part 1: Meiji Shrine / Shibuya / Harajuku

In the morning today, we went to the Meiji Shrine that is a large Shinto shrine in the Yoyogi district of Tokyo

We bought omamori (good luck charm) and omikuji (paper fortune).

Then Takeshita street in Harajuku. Brianne and Aisha found a couple of great clothing stores. We all had yummy Crepes which are very famous in Takeshita street.