Last week was a great great week! My sisters came to visit! My friends came with me to pick them up at the airport and we stopped at an onsen [spa] on the way home to soak in the hot tubs. Then dinner and home for bed. The week was packed. Here's the schedule:
Monday: We were up early for school at Kinugasa elementary. After school we went to a friend's house to try on kimonos... It was a great experience! Beautiful kimonos! Turns out the obi [belt] that I had on cost 10,000 dollars on its own! WOW!! Anyway, it was a very nice experience watching the process and seeing ourselves in kimono.
Tuesday: We went to school again, and after school went for a hike, then to dinner at a favorite restaurant, and followed up with karaoke night. Lots of fun, but I kined of lost my voice by the end of it.
Wednesday: School, then in the evening went to a JICA party... Japanese people and foreign visitors from all over... Interesting mingling! Government ministers from Iraq and Afghanistan, and other scholars from all over!
Thursday: School again, and a farewell party for me and the other English teachers who are leaving with members of the board of education... At an Italian restaurant!
Friday: Took a day off. We got up and went to Nagoya. After we bought sumo tickets we went next door to Nagoya castle then back to watch sumo for several hours. Afterwards we went to our friend's house in Osaka. My sisters met the baby! She is precious!
Saturday: We got up and went on a whirlwind tour! First stop- Nara Hotel. We had a posh brunch. Five courses of delicious Japanese-French food. Next was Todai-ji with the Great Buddha. From there we went back to Osaka to relax a couple of hours, then on to Kobe. We went for some snacks at the China town there. Then we went to see the longest bridge in the world! It was beautifully lit up with colorful lights, and around 9 pm they all went in rainbow colors. It was fun! After that we went back to Osaka for sleeping... Nice day with an old friend.
Sunday: We got up and went to the 100 yen shop and then to Kyoto. In Kyoto we met up with my boyfriend so he got to briefly meet my sisters as we had lunch in a revolving sushi restaurant and walked through Gion Matsuri to Kiyomizu temple. It was a great day in spite of some crowded streets and rain... After dinner at a ramen restaurant we came home and rested up for Monday.
Monday: We had planned a beach barbecue with friends but it was rainy, so instead we went to a famous shave-ice place at the end of the peninsula, visited the beach, and went to karaoke and dinner. It was a really nice time with super fun friends! It was a national holiday so everybody was free! We had a great time! After it all my younger sister had to pack up to go home!
Tuesday: Airport trip... We went to Toyohashi on the train... We met up with my Kenyan friend James and Japanese friend Ai on the train. Good timing! :) Then we took the bus to the airport. After check-in we went to have lunch and then to the airport onsen. It was interesting to watch a plane take off from the bath... After we said goodbye it was back to Tahara for French dinner with Japanese friends and another English teacher. Fun! Since then we have been a bit more relaxed, trying to work on wrapping things up. I will write a separate blog entry for my last day of school...