Before lunch...
During the morning when we arrived at Kagoshima kosen we had the opportunity to watch different classes and see what they were doing. The common denominator it seemed was that the activities the japanese students were doing seemed like a lot of fun compared to what most of us were doing when we were the same age. Everything from playing with an oscilloscope to programming robots to follow a black line using IR sensors. Very cool!
FM Kirishima and Hot spring tourism
After the tour of the classrooms we went to the FM Kirishima studio were Hugo, Reyona, another student and I were interviewed. We were asked about our first impressions of Japan, what our program at our school was, what we do, what we've done in Japan so far and what we hope to do in the future. It was a very unique experience that any of us involved will scarcely forget for the rest of our lives.
After that we went and drove to a nearby tourist location. There was a replica of a 1907 farmers house which was very cool to be in. It even held some similarities to older viking era longhouses. Additionally, the doorways were quite short so most of us swedish students had to be careful not to bump our heads. At this tourist location there was also a koi fish pond, we could even feed the fish! There was also a dedicated place outside where you could bathe your feet in hot spring water, which was very relaxing.
The club tour
After the radio and tourist stops we went back to the school and got a tour of the kendo club and Kyūdō club.
First was the kendo club. There we got to put on some traditional clothes for kendo. They fit everyone well and looked very cool, just a little bit tight on me haha. We got to try different ways to hit with a shinai and the different screams you do for the different ways you hit. Sebastian's scream was the best of our screams.
Second after kendo was the Kyūdō club. We got to watch some students shoot arrows and we got to hold one the bows, which was great! Everyone who tried the bow looked very cool.
Lastly, we went back to the kendo club. There Samuel, Robin and Amir got to put on full kendo gear and fight. This was a lot of fun to watch, especially since we could compare them to the other kendo practitioners who were a little better. But it was still an absolutely riveting and exciting experience.
The End
At the end of our day us students went to a sushi train restaurant to eat dinner while the teachers ate at a ramen place closer to the hotel. It was a lot of fun to order some sushi and then have it delivered to you on rails, a unique experience for me as it was my first time at such a restaurant.
Altough now it seems most of us swedish students are starting to feel really sad about leaving Kagoshima since it has been truly amazing meeting all of the students and we have all hade such a wonderful time here. :(