Shikoku with Itohiki Staff

On the weekend, I went to Shikoku with the staff at one of the Elementary Schools I teach at. I really enjoy going to Itohiki Elementary School because the staff are so friendly and kind. It was so nice of them to invite me to go with them on their staff trip.



We did so many different things on the trip.

Firstly, the bus took us to a theatre where we watched a play about racoons. It was all in Japanese, but they gave me headphones which explained the entire play in English so I knew what was going on.



It was really cute – about a group of racoons who were trying to save themselves from being hunted by humans. Then one of the racoons (the head racoon) fell in love with a beautiful woman who happened to be fighting against her father to try and save the racoons and the forest. They wanted to be together, but they couldn’t because they both had their own purpose and responsibilities in their own world. It was really sweet, but a little sad because they could never be together. They came to terms with it and ended up living happy lives, but they never forgot about each other.

I got to talk to some of the actors after the show and the beautiful woman and one of the racoons let me take a photo with them! I was so happy! I told the lady that I thought she was beautiful and I think she got embarrassed!hehe

















After the racoon show, we went to our hotel in Matsuyama to check in. This is a group photo of all the staff at Itohiki Elementary School. They are all so cool!

I shared a room with three other girls. We were so excited to see our hotel room because it was absolutely beautiful. I have never been in such a fancy hotel (Japanese-style of course!). We even got our own slippers, socks and yukatas!













Later on, we went and saw a stage where they perform special Japanese drama. They showed us the masks they use for the plays and we got to try them on!
















This is a photo of Mayumi and I. Mayumi was the teacher who helped to organise the trip and she invited me to go along. She has been so hospitable to me this year and she was translating what people were saying in English for me!

















The next day, we went to the Dogo Onsen. This is the most famous and oldest onsen in Japan. I was so excited to be able to go there! This is the outside of the onsen. The building is so old, but very beautiful.



We went inside and I was surprised at how small it actually was! The temperature of the water was also really, really hot. So hot, in fact, that I could only go in up to my waist. When I got out of the water, my skin was completely red and there was a distinct red line from where the water touched my skin! I wouldn’t have wanted to be burnt and go in there, that’s for sure!

We had a really fancy breakfast that morning and the food was so nicely presented and again, tasted delicious!


















After breakfast, we trekked on to a towel museum called Asakura. This was so cool because everything that was in the museum was made out of towels. They had all these cute stuffed animals on display and they were all made out of towels! Each room we went into had a different theme – one was an under-the-sea theme, one was a jungle theme, one was an Antarctica theme and one had many towel designs all framed and hung up on the walls.

My favourite section was when they had a whole heap of giant sweets made out of towels. I couldn’t help but take a photo of this massive, giant-sized piece of cake because I love cake so much!



















My other favourite section was the jungle section where they had all different types of jungle animals on display. They had two little scary tigers in a cage just in case they got out and tried to attack us! How scary!!!


















I loved this weekend with the teachers. It was so good to be able to get to know them a little better and to be able to practise my Japanese a bit more! They were so much fun to be with and I really enjoyed myself.