School Festival - Sports Day

When I was an elementary school student in America, we had sports day. I always looked forward to it every year. There were such events as the potato sack race, the three legged race, and relays. However, once we entered junior high and high school, there was no longer a sports day. I wish this event had carried over into later school years because I think it is a good event to bond students and teachers together and also create lasting memories.

I was really excited to see sports day in Japan because I wanted to see how the events differed from America. There were quite a few different events such as a mock cavalry battle and events involving wooden poles. Also, at midday, there was a dance contest between the two teams. Actually, I didn't really understand how the two teams were made. In America, I think the competition was between grades or homerooms. I can't remember, but in Japan, there were two teams composed of students from all three grades. I hope next year's sports day is just as exciting.

Culture Day - School Festival

This was my first time going to a school festival. At my high school in America, we had an art festival, but it was just some of the art classes' works displayed in the gym. It was nothing on the level of the Japanese school festival. I couldn't believe how much effort and work was put into the school festival. I was really proud of the students, and I think they did a great job.

The weeks before culture day, the English club worked hard on making their exhibition. The 3rd year girls decided on making and displaying English movie posters. I think the exhibition turned out well. I hope next year, we can make something even more amazing. My favorite exhibition was the science exhibition. There were so many animals. They had a snake and beetles. Also, I was viewing the exhibit with some of the English club girls, and one won a beetle. It was really cute. I think she really likes it. She took it home and bought wood for its box.

Also, I was really happy because 21 homeroom won the homeroom display contest. Every morning, I go to 21 homeroom's morning meeting, so I think of them as my good students. In addition, I got to help the girl's basketball club with their food stand. They made fried chicken. The food prepared by the clubs was really good. I got to try a few things for the first time like agepan.

Also, there was a cross dressing contest. I thought this was really weird, not because it was cross dressing but because a lot of the girls actually thought the boys looked cute dressed as girls. I didn't think they looked so cute. I guess that's it for culture day. Next, I'll talk about sport's day.

21 homeroom's display

English club's display

Shimizu S-Pulse Game and Design Festa

In May, I went to a Shimizu S-Pulse game in Tokyo and to a Design Festa. The Design Festa was near the port. That area is pretty cool. It doesn't feel like Tokyo though. At the Design Festa, there were hundreds of booths displaying individuals' art. It was interesting, but after a while, the art all started to blur together. A lot of it was really similar.

Mom's Visit-Day 11-12

On day 11, my mother and I went to Himeji to see the castle. Currently, Himeji castle is undergoing construction, but you can still view a great deal of the castle. I think it is cool because it is a World Heritage Site of Japan. We had a small mishap though. I didn't know that you couldn't withdraw money from your Japanese bank account during Golden Week. I think this is really, really strange because people need to withdraw money the most during holidays. Actually, I think Japanese atms are strange in general. In America, you can withdraw cash at any time from your bank's atm and not get charged. In Japan, I don't understand why there are hours for an atm when it is a machine. It's really difficult to get money out during the designated times because most people are working during those times.

After visiting the castle, we went to Koko-en Garden, which is surprisingly really big. I expected it to be quite small for some reason, maybe because it is right next to the castle, but it actually has lots of parts to it. Also, I think it was constructed quite recently, so the design is modern yet made to look old to match the castle. If you go to the castle, a visit to the gardens is definitely necessary.

On my mom's final day, we went back to Tokyo to shop. I think seeing Shibuya for the first time is quite intense, but I think my mom enjoyed shopping. I guess this concludes my documentation of the trip. I just hope my mom can visit again next year!

Mom's Visit-Day 10

Day 10 was a bit of a whirlwind. We got up really early and made our way to the Peace Park in Hiroshima. It felt strange going there because I am American. However, I felt really disconnected as well because I am so young. It’s difficult for me to comprehend any of that happening. After visiting the Peace Museum and wondering through the grounds of the Peace Park, we traveled on a really old tram to the port where we got a ferry to Miyajima Island. Upon arriving, the island was packed with tourists. It was pretty intense. However, I have to say that Miyajima is one of the prettiest places I have been to in Japan. The deer there are kind of gross though. They chase people around for food. After visiting Itsukushima Shrine and wondering around by the sea, we took a ropeway to see the top of Mount Misen. It was quite hot, and the trails were a bit more than we were expecting. I was really surprised though because Japanese girls were wearing high heels and walking the trails. There are supposedly monkeys on Mt. Misen, but I didn’t see any. I was a little disappointed. Coming back down from the mountain, we rode the ropeway with a 15 year-old Japanese boy. He was really eager to practice English, which made me happy because I want Japanese students to enjoy speaking English.

Mom's Visit-Day 8-9

On days 8 and 9, my mother and I stayed in Osaka. On day 8, we went to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. It was pretty cool. There is like this massive tank in the middle, and you keep walking around it on different floors in the building. It got a little boring after a while though. After this, we decided to make our way to Osaka Museum of History. I thought it was especially good because there are a lot of exhibits, and it is very visual, which is good for foreigners. The next day was quite chill. We went shopping. However, it was very hectic due to Golden Week, so we quickly left and sat at a Starbucks for a while drinking coffee. The afternoon of day 9, we made our way to Hiroshima.

Osaka Aquarium

Osaka Museum of History

View of Osaka Castle from Osaka Museum of history

Mom's Visit-Day 7

On day 7, my mother and I stayed in Kyoto and went to the Imperial Palace. You have to apply for a tour to enter the palace, which is a bit of a shame because the pace of the tour was quite slow. The grounds around the palace are really nice though. There are a few bridges, and the colors of the flowers and bushes in spring made the scenery beautiful. In the afternoon, we decided to visit Nijo Castle. I had been here once before, so we did a pretty quick run of the place and then headed to Osaka to spend the night.

my mom at the Imperial Palace