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Published: November 3rd 2009
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Magome
Our starting point! In Gifu Prefecture there is an old walking trail that connects the two towns of Magome and Tsumago. My school took all the first year students on a class trip there today and I got to go with! It was a perfect day for hiking - a bit cool but not too hot and SUNNY!
The hike itself was 8 kms long, most of it uphill, but it was totally worth it! The scenery was beautiful and it was a really good opportunity to talk to my students outside of class. I even ended up making 'friends' with students from a neighbouring school in Toyota City (like the car) in Aichi Prefecture. They followed me down the trail asking me different questions in English, which was really impressive I thought. They said I was 'Too Cute-to' and one boy even said he loved me. I had to laugh, it was too funny!
One of the coolest parts of the hike was getting to see the old growth forests and the waterfalls. The trees in this place were HUGE! It was like walking through a jungle or something in some parts. The waterfalls were called the Otaki.Metaki Watefalls. The kanji
was basically man and woman, so man and woman waterfalls. The waterfall was small, but really scenic at the same time.
At the end of our nice 8 km hike was the quaint little town of Tsumago. The people there were really nice and the place was just packed full of ice cream shops. I guess they know what hikers want after that big trek hahahaha! I was kind of bummed out that I couldn't buy anything though. The night before I got to the bank too late so the ATM was closed (yeah, ATMs have hours here.... god knows why) but I was told I could just take out money when we got there.
Anyway, I went to the post office ATM in Tsumago with my cash card to take out $20 to buy lunch and maybe a souveneir but the machine wouldn't take my card! After 8 kms of hiking I ended up eating a banana and some water. FML. Some students were nice enough to share some of their snacks with me though so it turned out okay in the end. It just would've been nice to get something. Ah well, I'll just have to
go back again sometime hahaha
Apparently the school does this trip every year so next year if I stay I'll have the option of going on the hike with the first years again, or travelling with the third years to Kyoto. Hmmmm.... decisions decisions!
Things with me are going really good otherwise. I went with one of the teachers from school last week to Club Quattro in Nagoya to see a show. The bands were Toe, LIVE, and Terra Melos. I thought Toe and LIVE were phenomenal! It was my first time seeing a Japanese band play and they were really quite good - sort of electronic mixed with instrumental rock. If you've ever heard of 'my dad vs. yours' the sound was very similar. I splurged and bought their CD 'The Book' after the show and have been listening to it all week since. Apparently they are playing in Nagoya again in Februrary so I'm already making plans to go back and see them. The other bands from America and Ireland were OK, but not really my sound. I talked for a bit to the guys in Terra Melos and Toe and both were super nice. I
hope the rest of their tour went well!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the pictures! Talk to you soon!
XO
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kaori
non-member comment
I'm glad you are having wonderful time there. You are a great teacher!