Monday 27th July 2009
On Friday Mr K, Felicia and I went to the Art Gallery while Sharnelle went to school for a meeting about her school camp next week. When her meeting was finished we went to a restaurant for lunch. We had been there before. We cooked our own and enjoyed it.
It was a very hot day so we went back to the ryoken and had a rest. When it was cooler we caught a bus to the shopping centre. We enjoyed just walking around and we bought a few last gifts to bring home. Sharnelle had to get some shoes for camp too. We then went to a Chinese Restaurant for dinner. When we got back we packed our bags and then we played cards.
When we woke up on Saturday we finished packing our bags. We walked to the train station to catch our train. Sharnelle was very sad that we were leaving. Her host grandad and grandma were there to drive her home.
Our first train trip was 2 and a half hours. When we changed trains we saw some 5 year old school children out on an excursion even though it was Saturday. They were so cute!!
Our next train trip was for about an hour. We were then back in Tokyo. We had about 2 hours to fill in before our train to the airport. Mr K went back to the elictronic street for a third look! Felicia and I stayed at the train station and had a coffee and read our books.
Then we caught the train to the airport. We booked in and wondered around until it was time to board. When we went to our gate we had to get a shuttle across because the airport is so big.
Before we got on the plane we met a Japanese girl called Lisa. She was flying on the same plane as us and going to Redcliffe as an exchange student.
We boarded our plane at 9.30pm. We flew through the night. It was a very long, uncomfortable night. We didn't sleep very much at all.
When we landed we had to go through immigration and customs. We had to declare some of the gifts that we had brought back. We then helped Lisa find the Rotary people who were there to meet her.
Miss Byrne and another friend called Julie were their to meet us. It was so nice to see them. We felt very tired and couldn't wait to get home and have a shower.
When we got home there was a lot of mail piled up on the table to sort through. It was good to be home. There was also a lot of washing to do!!!
After showers we felt a bit better. We went to the bakery and got a pie for lunch. We enjoyed that!!!
We then went out to a Rotary afternoon tea. We had to meet My. My is an exchange student from Swedan and will be staying at our house from September to December.
We were all very happy to go to sleep in our our own bed!!!!
Our holiday was now over but we had a wonderful time.
Tomorrow Mr K and I are going out to visit my sister on her new farm. We will come home on Thursday after we collect Simba from my parents.
We will also visit Mrs Kennedy in Toowoomba too.
Hope that you are enjoying the eggs!
See you all next week.
Mrs K x
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
More things to do in Takaoka
Thursday 23rd July 2009
Yesterday we had a very formal day.
Firstly we dressed in our best clothes and went to the Rotary Meeting. It was very formal and very interesting. The District Govenor was visiting too. The club is made up of about 60 men and 1 woman. She does all of the office work for the club. We had lunch as part of the meeting. We had eel!!! I ate it but I'm not sure that I like it. I managed to spill my soup. How embarrassing!!! Mr K had to make a speech and one of the men translated it. Sharnelle also had to make a speech but she spoke in Japanese. Most of the time we did not know what was being said. After the meeting was finished they had a photo taken. It was just like having a class photo. We had to be in it as well. I thought that it was very funny and I got the giggle when it was being taken.
One of the Rotarians then drove us around sight seeing. We went up the mountain first. From ther we could look back over the city. Next we stopped at an enoumous bell. It is the biggest in this area. We got to ring it. We then went to a famous Rock Island. The people here have a legend or story about it. Sharnelle had been there before but the last time she was there it was covered in snow. Next we went to the Takaoka History Museum. It was a little bit hard to understand it all as it was all in Japanese. And finally we went to a Tea House. We sat at a Japanese table which I don't find very confortable really and had an iced coffee. Iced coffee in Japan is really just very strong iced black coffee. We had to add a lot of sugar and a lot of milk.
We were then dropped back where we are staying.
We had just enough time to get changed and ready to go out to dinner with the people who have hosted Sharnelle and the president of the club. We went to a Chinese Restaurant which was just in the next street. It was a beautiful place to eat and the food was yummy. I think that they had ordered the food just for us as there was no raw fish and we had Aussie Beef!!!! Some of the people knew some english and they helped translate for those who didn't. When we got back Mr K, Felicia, Sharnelle and I played cards for a long time. It was very late when we went to bed.
Today we slept in and then we went for a walk to the park and visited the Takaoka Museum. We went to an Italian Restaurant for lunch. There were some teenage boys who kept staring at us and took our photos. I gave them some Australian stickers!!! After lunch we went to Sharnelle's school. Mr K and I met with her home class teacher and then we all went to English Speaking Club. We talked about Australia and how to pronounce some words. The girls then taught us how to makr paper cranes.
It was a small group but they were very friendly.
At the school there is a whole room just for shoes. Each student has atleast 3 pairs of shoes at school because they have an inside pair as well as sports and then the pair that they wear to school. It was very interesting to visit the school.
Tomorrow is our last day here. We will have to pack our bags ready for our trip home. We have to some how try and fit in all of the things that Sharnelle wants us to take home.
Mrs K. x
Yesterday we had a very formal day.
Firstly we dressed in our best clothes and went to the Rotary Meeting. It was very formal and very interesting. The District Govenor was visiting too. The club is made up of about 60 men and 1 woman. She does all of the office work for the club. We had lunch as part of the meeting. We had eel!!! I ate it but I'm not sure that I like it. I managed to spill my soup. How embarrassing!!! Mr K had to make a speech and one of the men translated it. Sharnelle also had to make a speech but she spoke in Japanese. Most of the time we did not know what was being said. After the meeting was finished they had a photo taken. It was just like having a class photo. We had to be in it as well. I thought that it was very funny and I got the giggle when it was being taken.
One of the Rotarians then drove us around sight seeing. We went up the mountain first. From ther we could look back over the city. Next we stopped at an enoumous bell. It is the biggest in this area. We got to ring it. We then went to a famous Rock Island. The people here have a legend or story about it. Sharnelle had been there before but the last time she was there it was covered in snow. Next we went to the Takaoka History Museum. It was a little bit hard to understand it all as it was all in Japanese. And finally we went to a Tea House. We sat at a Japanese table which I don't find very confortable really and had an iced coffee. Iced coffee in Japan is really just very strong iced black coffee. We had to add a lot of sugar and a lot of milk.
We were then dropped back where we are staying.
We had just enough time to get changed and ready to go out to dinner with the people who have hosted Sharnelle and the president of the club. We went to a Chinese Restaurant which was just in the next street. It was a beautiful place to eat and the food was yummy. I think that they had ordered the food just for us as there was no raw fish and we had Aussie Beef!!!! Some of the people knew some english and they helped translate for those who didn't. When we got back Mr K, Felicia, Sharnelle and I played cards for a long time. It was very late when we went to bed.
Today we slept in and then we went for a walk to the park and visited the Takaoka Museum. We went to an Italian Restaurant for lunch. There were some teenage boys who kept staring at us and took our photos. I gave them some Australian stickers!!! After lunch we went to Sharnelle's school. Mr K and I met with her home class teacher and then we all went to English Speaking Club. We talked about Australia and how to pronounce some words. The girls then taught us how to makr paper cranes.
It was a small group but they were very friendly.
At the school there is a whole room just for shoes. Each student has atleast 3 pairs of shoes at school because they have an inside pair as well as sports and then the pair that they wear to school. It was very interesting to visit the school.
Tomorrow is our last day here. We will have to pack our bags ready for our trip home. We have to some how try and fit in all of the things that Sharnelle wants us to take home.
Mrs K. x
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Karaoke and Kanazawa
Tuesday 21st July 2009
Yesterday we had a lazy morning at the ryokan. Then we walked to a restaurant near Sharnelle's school. We had to cook our own meal on a hot plate in front of us.
After lunch we met 2 of Sharnelle's school friends at her school. From there we went to karaoke. It was a lot of fun. At the place they have a lot of rooms decked out with all of the karaoke equipment. You hire the room for as long as you like. We were there for 3 hours and so sang a lot of songs. The 2 Japanese girls really liked to sing and had beautiful voices. We then had a big walk back to where we are staying.
Sharnelle's host mother and brother (Yoshi) came to pick us up. We went to their house for dinner. Grandma and grandad and Yuki (Yoshi's sister) live there too. Grandma and mum had prepared sooooo much food. It was all very delicious!! We sat on the floor to eat. Some of the things were a bit hard to eat with chopsticks. Sharnelle showed us her room and we saw some other very special things in their house as well. It was a really special time. Grandad was a very cute little man. He made us laugh!!
Today we caught the train to Kanazawa. It is the capital of the next area. It took about 45 minutes to get there. Sharnelle was meeting some other exchange students there for the day as some of them go home at the end of this week.
We went to a very beautiful garden. It rained but it was still lovely to see. We also went to a Contempary Art Gallery. There were some very interesting exhibitions there. One was a huge room that had a maze made out of small mounds of salt. It was still being completed. There was another room that was being made by people who visited it. It was all being knitted and crocheted. There were lots of flower shapes. Mr K, Felicia and I sat down and hand knitted a flower each. I will have to teach my class to hand knit. You just use your fingers!!! There were also some tricycles too as part of an exhibition. (They spelt it try circles!)You were allowed to ride them around inside the gallery. Felicia rode one.
Mr K, Felicia and I then caught the train back to Takaoka. Sharnelle stayed with her friends and came home after dinner.
Tomorrow we have some formal occassions to attend. Firstly we have to go to the Rotary Meeting at lunch time and then the Rotary Club are taking us out to dinner. We are going to a Chinese Restaurant. I feel a bit nervous about these!
Mrs K. x
Yesterday we had a lazy morning at the ryokan. Then we walked to a restaurant near Sharnelle's school. We had to cook our own meal on a hot plate in front of us.
After lunch we met 2 of Sharnelle's school friends at her school. From there we went to karaoke. It was a lot of fun. At the place they have a lot of rooms decked out with all of the karaoke equipment. You hire the room for as long as you like. We were there for 3 hours and so sang a lot of songs. The 2 Japanese girls really liked to sing and had beautiful voices. We then had a big walk back to where we are staying.
Sharnelle's host mother and brother (Yoshi) came to pick us up. We went to their house for dinner. Grandma and grandad and Yuki (Yoshi's sister) live there too. Grandma and mum had prepared sooooo much food. It was all very delicious!! We sat on the floor to eat. Some of the things were a bit hard to eat with chopsticks. Sharnelle showed us her room and we saw some other very special things in their house as well. It was a really special time. Grandad was a very cute little man. He made us laugh!!
Today we caught the train to Kanazawa. It is the capital of the next area. It took about 45 minutes to get there. Sharnelle was meeting some other exchange students there for the day as some of them go home at the end of this week.
We went to a very beautiful garden. It rained but it was still lovely to see. We also went to a Contempary Art Gallery. There were some very interesting exhibitions there. One was a huge room that had a maze made out of small mounds of salt. It was still being completed. There was another room that was being made by people who visited it. It was all being knitted and crocheted. There were lots of flower shapes. Mr K, Felicia and I sat down and hand knitted a flower each. I will have to teach my class to hand knit. You just use your fingers!!! There were also some tricycles too as part of an exhibition. (They spelt it try circles!)You were allowed to ride them around inside the gallery. Felicia rode one.
Mr K, Felicia and I then caught the train back to Takaoka. Sharnelle stayed with her friends and came home after dinner.
Tomorrow we have some formal occassions to attend. Firstly we have to go to the Rotary Meeting at lunch time and then the Rotary Club are taking us out to dinner. We are going to a Chinese Restaurant. I feel a bit nervous about these!
Mrs K. x
Sunday, July 19, 2009
In and around Takaoka with Sharnelle
Sunday 19th July 2009
Yesterday we left Hiroshima on the Shinkansen.
We had an hour and a half trip to Osaka where we changed trains.
It was then a 3 hour trip to Takaoka.
I thought that I would sleep but I was too excited about seeing Sharnelle.
We arrived at Takaoka just before 3 o'clock. Sharnelle was waiting for us at the station with a sign that said "Welcome to Takaoka."
She took us to our ryokan - Japanese Guest House. Then we went for a walk through the park. There is a zoo in the park. You can just walk through the zoo. It even has an emu. We then caught a bus and went to the shopping centre. We looked around and had some dinner there too.
When we got back, Mr K and I talked with a Japanese couple who were staying at the ryokan. Mr K even tried Japanese beer!!
We slept on mattresses on the floor. They were quite comfortable and I didn't mind the pillows!
Today we caught us bus to Toyama. Toyama is the capital of this area. It took us about half an hour on the train. We haven't had to buy train tickets for every trip that we have done because we got a rail pass for the 3 weeks. That has worked very well.
We visited a castle. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant and then walked to a garden. It started to rain so we found a sheltered spot and watched the water fountain. When it stopped raining we walked back to the train station.
When we got back to Takaoka we went to the hundred yen shop. That's a cheap shop but they have so much in the shop. I could have spent ages looking at it all.
We then did some washing. Even on holidays there's washing!!!
Sharnelle then took us to a Yaki Niku restaurant for dinner. It was lovely. We even had some Aussie Beef! We had to cook it ourselves. Another lady who is staying at the Ryokan and who teaches in Thailand came to dinner with us.
After the walk back I'm ready for a sleep.
The weather is very humid and I seem to get very tired.
Tomorrow we are meeting up with some of Sharnelle's school friends for lunch and then we are going to her host family's house for dinner. That will be exciting to visit their house.
It is very interesting being here as not many tourist come to this area so the children all stare at us because we look different. Sharnelle is known by lots of people here as the exchange student. I like to listen to her speaking to the people in Japanese. It means that she can do things like ordering our food etc for us.
Mrs K. x
Yesterday we left Hiroshima on the Shinkansen.
We had an hour and a half trip to Osaka where we changed trains.
It was then a 3 hour trip to Takaoka.
I thought that I would sleep but I was too excited about seeing Sharnelle.
We arrived at Takaoka just before 3 o'clock. Sharnelle was waiting for us at the station with a sign that said "Welcome to Takaoka."
She took us to our ryokan - Japanese Guest House. Then we went for a walk through the park. There is a zoo in the park. You can just walk through the zoo. It even has an emu. We then caught a bus and went to the shopping centre. We looked around and had some dinner there too.
When we got back, Mr K and I talked with a Japanese couple who were staying at the ryokan. Mr K even tried Japanese beer!!
We slept on mattresses on the floor. They were quite comfortable and I didn't mind the pillows!
Today we caught us bus to Toyama. Toyama is the capital of this area. It took us about half an hour on the train. We haven't had to buy train tickets for every trip that we have done because we got a rail pass for the 3 weeks. That has worked very well.
We visited a castle. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant and then walked to a garden. It started to rain so we found a sheltered spot and watched the water fountain. When it stopped raining we walked back to the train station.
When we got back to Takaoka we went to the hundred yen shop. That's a cheap shop but they have so much in the shop. I could have spent ages looking at it all.
We then did some washing. Even on holidays there's washing!!!
Sharnelle then took us to a Yaki Niku restaurant for dinner. It was lovely. We even had some Aussie Beef! We had to cook it ourselves. Another lady who is staying at the Ryokan and who teaches in Thailand came to dinner with us.
After the walk back I'm ready for a sleep.
The weather is very humid and I seem to get very tired.
Tomorrow we are meeting up with some of Sharnelle's school friends for lunch and then we are going to her host family's house for dinner. That will be exciting to visit their house.
It is very interesting being here as not many tourist come to this area so the children all stare at us because we look different. Sharnelle is known by lots of people here as the exchange student. I like to listen to her speaking to the people in Japanese. It means that she can do things like ordering our food etc for us.
Mrs K. x
Friday, July 17, 2009
Peace Park Hiroshima and Miyajima Island
Friday 17th July 2009
We have now been traveling for 2 weeks.
We have done so much and seen so many things.
We miss Simba though.
Yesterday we caught a Street Car (tram) to Peace Park in Hiroshima.
It was a lovely park with a lot of memorials for victims of the bomb that was dropped there on August 6th 1945. Some of the things that we saw made us feel very sad. There was also a Memorial Hall and a Museum. It was nice to sit quietly in the Memorial Hall and just think about it all. It really must have been an awful thing for the people here to go through. I don't think that you could understand what it really was like unless you were there at the time. The story about Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes was part of one of the exhibitions as well. I bought the story book and read it yesterday afternoon. I would like to share the story when I get back to school and we could learn to make paper cranes. There is a special monument for Sadako in the park. Children take paper cranes and hang there.
We spent most of the day at the park.
Today we went on the train and then a ferry to Miyajima Island.
It was a very rainy day.
That was our first really wet day which I guess is not too bad considering we are in the wet season here.
When we got to the island we walked to a special gate which was in the sea in front of a shine.
There were lots of little shops along the way. There were also wild deer everywhere.
Next we went on a Rope Car up the mountain. Now Year 4's you need to proud of me here!! This is not something that I felt very comfortable about doing but I did it!!!! It was very high and very long. I guess it was a pity that it was so cloudy because we couldn't see very far. It did clear a little bit when we came back down.
On top of the mountain there were a lot of monkeys. Most of them seemed to have a baby too. They were very cute.
Tomorrow we catch trains to Takaoka to where Sharnelle is living. She is very excited about us coming and we are excited about seeing her after 25weeks.
I hope that you have had a great start to Term 3.
Miss Byrne told me she enjoyed doing dancing with you.
I was pleased to hear that.
Mrs K. xx
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hiroshima
Wednesday 15th July 2009
We did manage to get out yesterday afternoon and go to a castle and gardens.
Everything here is so old especially when you think that we in QLD just celebrated 150 years. Alot of things here are 500 years old and some more like 1000.
Mr K and Felicia went out at about 8pm to find a red glass light house.
I stayed at the hotel and went to bed.
Today we went to another garden.
We caught a train that only had one carriage.
It was a very big, beautiful garden.
There were turtles and very big fish in the ponds which we fed.
We then left Takamatsu.
This time we went on a double decker train to Okayama.
We were sitting in the bottom level.
It felt a little bit like my bottom was on the ground.
We crossed over the 15km bridge again.
At Okayama we changed to a Sinkansen train for the rest of the trip to Hiroshima.
We didn't get to see very much scenery because there were so many tunnels.
When we got to Hiroshima we went to our hotel.
It is a very swish hotel.
We have bed and I love the pillows.
We had to do some washing.
There was a coin operated laundry in the hotel so that meant we didn't have to carry our dirty washing along the street to the laundry!
We went out walking to explore the area and to find somewhere for dinner.
I posted a postcard to my class.
We found a restaurant that cooked okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) and yakisoba.
They are my 2 favourite dishes.
They cook it in front of you.
Hiroshima is famous for its okonomiyaki because they put noodles in it.
It was yummy! But fun to eat with chopsticks.
Tomorrow we are going to Peace Park.
That is where we will see lots of things about the Bomb that was dropped here during World War 2. This is the place where the story of Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes comes from. I'm looking forward to this as this is the place that I wanted to visit the most. Well apart from where Sharnelle is of course.
I am having a lot of trouble remembering how to spell the names of some of the places here in Japan. Felicia keeps making fun of me when I try to spell or say things the LEM way. Japan does not use LEM.
Take care,
Mrs K. xx
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Kyoto and Takamatsu
Tuesday 14th July 2009
On Saturday we caught the train to Nara.
We did a walking trail.
We went through a park where there were many dears.
They were very cute.
We bought some wafers to feed to them.
On Sunday we caught a train to Osaka just because we could.
It was very hot so we really only checked out the train station.
All of the train stations have shopping centres attached to them.
Yesterday we caught the Shinkansen to Yokahama.
We changed to a local train then and went to Takamatsu.
Takamatsu is on an island to the southwest.
We came across a 15km bridge.
It was very spectacular.
We are staying in a hotel and it is really nice to have real beds and pillows.
It was very hot so we stayed in the hotel for a while and went out when we thought it might be cooler.
We had wanted to go to the park but realized that it would be closing soon so we just explored the local area.
Today it is very hot again.
Mr K and Felicia have been out but I stayed in the cool.
We will go out later if its not too hot to look at the park.
I hope that you are all happy to be back at school and treating Mr C with respect and not missing me toooooo much!
Mrs K xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)