So, as I was saying, Hakodate. Hakodate is Hokkaido's southernmost city as well as it's most historic, and was a great place to spend a weekend. I was lucky enough to receive an invite from my friend and her host family to join them on the trip, and it was a great experience. Seeing as the trip was a few weeks ago, the details are a little blurry, but I remember all the highlights. We left Friday night after school, and explored the city on Saturday and Sunday and returned home sunday evening. The sakura trees weren't in bloom as we had hoped, but it was a great trip nonetheless.
Saturday was mostly spent strolling about and exploring the city, including some of the more historic buildings and churches. We also stopped for ice cream, and though I stuck to vanilla, most of the shops were also selling squid ink ice cream, apparently a rather popular flavour in Japan. Saturday night we took a gondola up the Hakodate ropeway to the summit of the mountain overlooking the city.
The next day we mostly walked through the park and then took the elevator up Goryokaku Tower, another great place for views of the city. It also had a small glass floor section ninety meters above the ground and a series of diagrams detailing the city's history as a port. After the tower and lunch we spent the better part of the afternoon driving back home.
Two weekends ago I once again went out of town, this time only for one day, for a rotary event in a small town called Naganuma. Also attending was the rest of the exchange students, several university students from China and Malaysia, Naganuma high school's tea ceremony club and the school's band, many rotarians from the club, and a large group of Naganuma elementary school students. We got to hang out with the kids and bond over lunch, then set into the activities of the afternoon.
The exchange student group in our blazers, with a rotarian and a couple students from China
Everyone who attended the event, minus the elementary school students
Me pounding rice to make mochi, a stick rice cake usually filled with sweet bean paste, and a popular snack in Japan
Which brings me back to this week. The term changed recently, so I have new schedule consisting of most of the same classes as last year, though now I'm also taking art and more Japanese than last year. Friday, however, I didn't have to go in class in lieu of a very long walk my school does every year. We walked about 25.5 kilometres, my feet are still feeling it, but it was a good challenge and something of a bonding experience. We also got to enjoy seeing the sakura trees in bloom.
Speaking of the trees, yesterday me and a few other exchange students went to the park for hanami, best translated as flower-viewing, but that doesn't really sum up the experience. People come to the park to enjoy the flowers, have picnics and enjoy snacks bought from various stands set up in the area. There was a great atmosphere, a lot of fun, and this time I did get to take some pictures.
We were lucky to see the flowers in time, as the sakura tends to be fleeting, and lived up to this reputation last night when most of the petals were blown away by the wind and rain. Still, they were wonderful while they lasted.
