What a great day in Japan! We started our day out with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. First we were off to Asakusa followed by a visit to the Imperial Palace grounds, Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine, Harajuku, and the Observatory of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Our Local Guide Mimi was fabulous and gave us a guided tour of Tokyo. We have only had one day out and about but the students say it has felt like a week because we have done so much already.
Tokyo
Today was public Transportation day. We rode the Subway and Elevated rail to several locations around Tokyo today. Students met with a Sumo wrestler at the EF Language Center, had lunch and visited with college students from a local university, Visited Ginza and the Nissan/ Sony Center, and went to Akihabara. Today’s dinner was a traditional meal of Tempura. After dinner we returned to Akihabara to see the sights at night. It was a great day.
Kamakura- Fujikawaguchiko
Mount Fuji! The Shrine of Kamakura,!The Great Buddha Kamakura!
Today we took a bus from Tokyo and headed out to Fujikawaguchiko. On the way we stopped in Kamakura to see the Great Buddha. Students learned how the sculpture was made and were able to go inside of the Buddha . We also visited the Shrine where we saw a variety of cherry blossoms blooming. The students had a 3 hour bus ride but our leader Yu was very good about teaching a lesson about Japanese resources, environment, weather, writing and even some politics. We were able to make an additional stop at a Mount Fuji viewing area to get some great photos. The students ended the day with some Karaoke!
Hakone-Odwara-Kyoto
Our morning did not go as planned because of inclement weather. We traveled to the top of Owakudani by bus but the wind was so strong and the fog had rolled in so much it was hard to see anything. But the students were able to share a black egg with each other. Our cable car and boat ride were canceled due to extremely high winds however we were able to change plans quickly because EF was on top of it. The students were able to visit the Hakone Open Air Museum. It was an IMPRESSIVE balance of Art and Nature. This sculpture park and museum had an extensive list of artists work throughout the park and also had a hot spring water foot bath.
After the museum we went for a quick lunch and were able to meet for a demonstration on hand made puzzle boxes. The artist was really great at his craft. We then stopped to learn about Odwara Castle and have a moment for some pictures at the castle.
Todays big deal was the Bullet train! The speed was very surprising! Wow! It was crazy fast!