Shuugaku Ryokou! Day One

So on Tuesday I was lucky enough to go on the shuugaku ryokou, woot! Every grade in junior high schools go on trips once a year to learn, bond, etc. The first year they go to an outdoor school-type thing in the mountains, second year they go to Tokyo, and third year they go to Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, which is far away (in Japanese terms). It is a way to learn Japanese history and have fun and everything before they graduate. Anyway, yeah, I was lucky, as my kouchou sensei (principal) invited me to go this year! I later learned that he had to pull strings and keep it a secret from some BOE people (ooo, sneaky!), so I was very lucky to be allowed to go! Yay!

We left on Tuesday, and good LORD, I had to get up early! We had to be at school at 5:30 in the morning, eek! Not amusing. I couldn’t sleep the night before, so that was not a good start, but I was excited, so it was okay, I wasn’t grumpy, surprisingly! I was amazed at how all of the students were at school way early and way before me! They were all ready by 5:30, clazy! The poor kids had to wear their nice uniforms the whole time, even tho Osaka, Kyoto and Nara are freaking HOT, and teachers had to wear work outfits, so that wasn’t very amusing, but oh well. Anyway, they were all genki and in their uniforms at a ridiculous hour in the morning, I was impressed!

Anyway, from Yabuchu we took buses to an eki (train station) about 45 minutes away, then took the train to Tokyo to take the shinkansen (bullet train). I was very amused, as one student asked me at the eki, “Jeff, why did you ride your bike here?” I was like, um, no, I came on the bus, and he replied, “Oh, I thought I saw you riding your bike over there!” Um, hello, I would NOT ride my freaking bike to an eki that takes 45 minutes by bus to get to?! Clazy kids.

Oh, the trains on the way to Tokyo were typical Tokyo-type trains (i.e. packed), and my inaka kids were NOT okay with them whatsoever! They were complaining like the whole time! Hehe. In Gunma trains are like never standing room-only, so that was a bit of a shock for them. Also, Yuto, the boy sitting next to me, had like a heart attack every time a train passed loudly by us on the track next to us. Once again, Gunma is ghetto and only has one train track, so that isn’t possible here! Haha, sad, poor inaka kids!

Anyway, we eventually got on the shinkansen, where the kids were allowed to bust out their snacks they brought. Um, the snacks are seriously the highlights of the trip for the kids, it is scary! They brought SO MANY! They aren’t allowed to bring food with them to school ever, so this was like their free time, and they took advantage of it! It was like a conbini in there, damn! I cant believe the kind of crap kids can eat, btw, it is scary! Anyway, the boys sitting near me played Uno with me for like 2 hours, which was the official start of the most Uno I have ever played in my life in a three-day span! I am now an Uno Master! It was fun to hang out with the boys, though, yay. Oh, I should mention that they aren’t allowed to bring video games, music players, etc., they can pretty much only bring books and cards. This was a good idea, I think, as it forced the kids to be social and talk to each other and stuff. So yes, hence, lots of Uno!!!

Once we got to Osaka, we took another train to Universal Studios Japan. Might I add that Yabuchu rocks, as most schools don’t get to go to USJ! Woot for us! It was the only place I hadn’t been on the trip, so I was looking forward to that. While it was TEENY, it was a lot of fun! I rode on Spider-Man 3-D twice, and that is the freaking best ride ever! I thought it was gonna be like Star Tours and Back to the Future, in that you think you are moving, but you aren’t. However, you are actually on a track moving, but there are screens and motions that make you feel like you are moving more. It is hard to explain, but it is REALLY well-made, and is freaking awesome! The 3-D part was really cool, too. They need to make a Batman ride like it, it would kick ass! I also went to Terminator 2 3-D, which was pretty good, but dated. I also got to see a 30-minute version of Wicked for free! They do about three shows a day, and it is good for being a free USJ show! It is like 2/3 Japanese and 1/3 English (the Elphaba is a gaijin), and it was enjoyable. I couldn’t get tickets to Wicked in Tokyo, so I will count this as my Japanese Wicked experience! After that I walked around with some boys and stuff. Might I add that it was FREAKING HOT there, holy crap! It is SO much more humid in that area, and USJ has no shade! Also, I should be hot and sleep-deprived more often, as I didn’t eat between 10:30 and 5 and was completely fine? It was very scary!

Oh, during USJ, I was harassed about two things! First, they kept asking why I didn’t bring Cindy, who they think is my girlfriend. Um, even if she was, WHY would I bring her on the school trip?! It isn’t like the teachers brought their wives and husbands! Anyway, they were all like, “Why didn’t you bring her? You should have brought her? What omiyage are you buying for her???” Hahaha. Then all of the guys were trying to convince me to shower with them at the ryokan (Japanese-style inn, meaning they have public showers/bath). I would actually do it if they weren’t OBSESSED WITH MY PENIS! Like, it would be fun, as guys talk about amusing things when showering in Japan (hehe), but er, yeah, not gonna happen since I am a gaijin and they talk about my bits enough as it is! The most amusing quote was from Kenta, who said, “Don’t worry, Jeff, we all have them! No touch!” Hahahahaha.

After USJ we took the bus to Kyoto. In Japan tour buses always have guides who talk for a million hours about random shit, and I felt VERY sorry for our guides, as the kids totally didn’t pay attention to them! Poor girls (they are ALWAYS girls). Anyway, we took the bus to Kyoto, got to our ryoukan (Japanese-style inn), had some dinner (um, the teacher’s dinner was SO MUCH better than the students’!!!), and that was about it. That night we had a teacher’s meeting and then I was forced into drinking with my kouchou sensei (principal) and a couple other teachers, hehe. It was fun, tho! And a good way to get gossip ;) Anyway, this is hella long, end of day one!