Jack

Day 10 - KJ Part 2

Today I finally moved in with my host family! I met my student, Ryouta, early in the day and followed him through school. The day was very similar to yesterday but with a few different classes and teachers. A lot of it was just getting to know my host student. I already really miss the Principal and his wife, they were some of the nicest people I have ever met and I feel we could communicate really well. But I'm sure that over the next few days, I will also bond with Ryouta and his family.

Day 9 - KJ Part 1

This was our first day attending Kokusai Joho High School. My host student couldn't attend school today so I shadowed a student named Hayato. The students here are all very nice and welcoming. The school day started with a welcome ceremony for us in front of the school. Then we followed our shadow students to get a feel for a normal school dau.

Day 8 - Nagaoka

Thankfully, I was able to get a lot of rest today. Since I currently do not have a host student, I met with some of the other trippers and their students to spend most of the day. We first went to a used video game store, where I was able to get a lot of games for really cheap. Hopefully, it will be fun to play and translate them. We spent the next few hours playing games at the arcade before I was picked up for dinner. The rest of the evening, I spent with Mr. Kazuhiko and his wife, mainly watching TV. For dinner, he invited a KJ Student to eat and talk with us, which was nice.

Day 7 - Travelling to Niigata

Although most of today was a travel day, we got to meet our host families and spend the night with them. My situation is very interesting; First, I met my host student, Ryouta, after the train, he seems very night and interesting, and I’m glad that I will be able to spend time with him. Unfortunately, his Grandfather passed away recently and they will be having ceremonies over the next few days. So, until Tuesday, I will be staying with the school principal and his wife. They are extremely nice people and I’m really happy to have the opportunity to stay with them. It has been over 10 years since they have hosted an exchange student. For dinner, they took be to one of the coolest restaurants I have ever been to. At first it looks like a normal family restaurant, but it was nearly completely automated. It had a little robot assign our table and a conveyor belt that brings out all the food. Every table also had a tablet with a menu for placing orders. The food itself was very good to, they had a lot to offer but we mostly ate sushi and takoyaki. We ended up ordering a lot of food too, I was really full by the end of the meal, but directly after they offered to take me to the supermarket for snacks and breakfast food. The rest of the night we spent watching Japanese TV, which was really interesting. So, as I look forward to staying with Ryouta and his family, I’m sure the Principal and his wife will take very good care of me.

Day 6 - Yamadera

Day 5 - Onsen and Snow Monsters

Day 4 - Traveling to Zao Onsen

We spent most of today on trains travelling to Zao Onsen. The longest train

Day 3 - Ueno Park and Tokyo Sky Tree

Staring today, we took a short tour of Waseda University. It was interesting to see how it was intertwined with Tokyo.

Day 2 - Meiji Shrine and Miraikan

We started the day with visiting Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. I had little prior knowledge of the shrine, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was still very surprised by how vast and well-kept the shrine was. The entrance gates and pathway were much larger than I had expected. Miraikan was also very exciting. This I had done some research on, but was still blown away. It had some really cool interactive exhibits and was also a great place to rest at after walking all day.

Meiji Shrine

Day 1 - Arrival

Today was a travel day. We departed O'Hare at 12:00 to arrive in Japan 13 hours later. After arriving we bought dinner at the airport 7-11 and quickly left for the Youth Hostel.

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