Thursday and Friday I was away at English Camp with the junior high schoolers from a super global high school that puts a strong emphasis on English. We went near Mt. Akagi at the National Akagi Youth Friendship Center. It was quite pretty, nestled among some colorful trees and the woods. I had to catch the train really early to be able to arrive in Shin-Maebashi to get the bus that would take us over to the school where we would switch buses again to drive to the camp. About twenty high school ALTs went. The building itself was super cold as the sun disappeared. I was really glad that I brought gloves, wool socks, and my full winter jacket for the evening performances in the gym.

I really had a lot of fun playing games, and watching the skits the students performed. Such creativity and they worked really hard. The cafeteria food was interesting. The first day was the least appetizing, but there was always rice for every meal. And potatoes, all the carbs. The signs were in Japanese so I had to just try a little bit of everything to see what it was and if I’d like it. One mealtime we managed to talk with the students, but they were also very shy and liked to stick with their friends.

At night, we had the whole public baths to ourselves. The other teachers had bathed earlier so I managed to take some photos before we all got naked in the water. In the morning of the second day, I was using the bathroom on our floor with all these cute, little 7th and 8th graders. They were really impressed by me putting on foundation since they aren’t allowed to wear makeup. Then I let down my wet-ish, curly hair and there was more oohs. Ah, the little things, ha. We had some free time in the morning so we went on a little hike through the woods. We ended up circling the building into the campground area. I would love to have actually done some camping!

I had lunch with a discussion group and we managed to chat a bit after. They invited their favorite teacher to sit with us and another teacher followed so I got to meet them. The one guy teacher was a master origami maker and could make a dragon! As we were leaving on the bus, the two teachers were running around looking for me. He had made me a dragon! It was stunning! I’m crushed that as we were getting off the bus, I forgot him on a little shelf :( Again, you can see how amazingly kind the people here are.

M picked me up this morning as we headed off to pick up three others in Fujioka. K was meeting us at Sakurayama Park, where you could see the winter cherry blossoms. It was raining, so some of the others who had wanted to join us, changed their minds. We made to the park with only one mis-turn. There was a guy who said something in Japanese and waved us on. We only understood 300 m so we kept driving figuring he was directing us to parking. Instead we came to another entrance with a booth where you had to pay and had to turn around and re-enter the park. A little confusing, but this time around, the other guy directed us to the parking lot.

The blossoms were pretty faint, I think it was a bit early in the season, but the fall leaves were at their peak. Absolutely stunning! I love the red of momiji, Japanese maple. The rainy weather added some fog. We first walked around a Japanese garden and then walked through the park up a ginormous hill that had a gazebo on top. K decided to stay behind here and take a nap in the peaceful nature. The rest of us were hungry and wanted to get some food. We stopped by the stands that were selling local food, and the mushroom guy even spoke English!

We decided to head to Kanna Town where O, another ALT, was finishing a marathon. We grabbed some conbini food to tide us over and began the drive. The road curves around a lake surrounded by fall leaves with some red bridges spanning it. So picturesque. The color of the water was really cool too. He had already finished by the time we arrived, but we managed to cheer on some of the Japanese runners. Apparently there’s even an exchange with France so a marathon runner comes from there to run. There was free soup and O had some food coupons so we got to try some Japanese food for free, including grilled corn just like my university’s Japanese club always makes.

So I decided to rent a car! I’m sick of bothering other people for rides and not being able to go to many places because of the lack of public transport access. Ebachan brought the car down for me to do a test drive. I had to be in Takasaki at 6:30 pm for a Guy Fawkes party aka setting off fireworks in a park. Thus, I drove for the first time on the left handed side of the road! Pulling out from my small street was the scariest. I knew intellectually that I had to get in the left lane while turning right, but my body was screaming no, that’s wrong. And there was an incoming car too. Otherwise the drive was fine, just turned on the windshield wipers four times instead of my blinker since those are switched. My depth perception was a little whacked too, it felt like I was driving too close to the outer edge of the street sometimes. The drive was full of dark, curvy back roads and since I drove the speed limit, there were many impatient people behind me. Ebachan said I drove really well and safe so he feels good about renting the car to me, ha.

Once all eleven of us showed up in Takasaki at the park by the river, we started lighting sparklers and various fireworks. Some that even shot off the ground into the air. No one got maimed or died so it was a success. We did end up moving downwind from the bridge though because they were setting off so much smoke and covering the bridge and drivers. Afterwards, we drove to the train station to eat at an Indian restaurant where a couple more people joined us. The nan was ginormous! And the curry, yummy. Also got to have mango lassi again! The staff was all Indian and we only spoke English so that was easier. Post dinner, I went out with a couple people to Pitch where we got drinks and played darts. I met another Gunma ALT who studied at Ohio University and we have a ton of mutual friends. The world is so small. We headed out around before midnight so people could catch their trains and I caught a ride back home with M.

Today is Culture Day in Japan so many places had free admission. I had a hike of Mt. Myogi, our nearest mountain 30 minutes away, planned. K picked me up and we began the scenic drive through farm fields heading towards the crags of Myogi-san. It has such a jagged summit line. Another winding ascent, although shorter than Akagi, and we met up with the rest of the GAJET group at Nakanodake shrine’s parking lot. About twelve of us were hiking together. As we left, the policemen gave us a map and told us to be careful. I didn’t know this at the time, but on the neighboring peak, a couple went missing this past weekend. They found the man dead, but haven’t yet found the woman.

We did a nice loop that took us about 3 hours with some waits for the chain climbs. The chains already start right at the beginning. We went passed the four stone arches of Myogi. Only one part with the chains was a bit scary coming down, but the rest had decent footholds and handholds to use. The chains were mostly an extra precaution. The views were pretty awesome and definitely make me want to do the 6-8 hour summit hike! The autumn colors were beautiful, but a bit early still. If I get a car this month, I really want to go back. I got really hot, although it was cold in the parking lot with the wind blowing. Should have worn less layers. After we came down by the shrine, some people stopped for lunch. I hung out before four of us went to the sentou (public hot baths).

I forgot to bring a little towel aka washcloth with me so I had to buy one for a little bit extra. M and I had a lovely soak especially in the outdoor bath. The air was chilly and we had a fantastic view of Tomioka, Takasaki, and Maebashi. There was a road much further, but if you walked by the edge, you were definitely flashing people, haha. We got some ice cream afterward as you are supposed to consume milk products post-bath. We all decided to get some yakimanju in Tomioka and S, who has spent a lot of time in Tomioka, told K and I about some good places! We also went to a mochi shop that had daifuku which was cold, cream filled mochi. So yummy! I got pumpkin and tiramisu flavor. Definitely will be back. It’s also right by my school. I took K and M to my bakery and picked up some things there too. Then it was finally time to head back to my house. The hike plus sentou really knocked me out and I just wanted my bed.

Woke up at 7:30 am! Just can’t sleep in, blah. I got a message yesterday from another Gunma teacher that also does photography. He wanted me to model for fantasy concept shoot idea he had. The other guy that was supposed to come, couldn’t make it, so we decided to just do single photos. I met him at Isesaki station at 1 pm after fitting in some grocery shopping in the morning. He bought me Starbucks and a scone as thanks. I didn’t have time to eat lunch before catching the train ha. The chai tea tasted the same as US’s unlike Europe’s. We had a lot of driving ahead of us. The first location was on a bamboo path down to a rocky river near Mizunuma. Such beautiful fall colors everywhere!

Then we drove up Mt. Akagi. It was a long, steep, curvy ascent, but completely beautiful. Mt. Akagi is used by the drifters so you could see the scrapes on the side railings, and tire tracks all over the road. They had these waves in the road as a deterrent. Definitely got to see some super nice cars! The top of the mountain was already completely bare around the lake and shrine. We took some more photos in a gazebo, but just portrait shots. It was only about 5 C (41 F) out at this time so I got to keep my jacket on, whew. He dropped me off in Takasaki and I headed home via train.