Day 5 - Kyoto

Today we woke up at 5:30 in the morning....We were able to attend a 6:30 temple service. It lasted way too long, so we left a little early. It was very interesting, but it felt like it lasted forever. Everyone said that they were tired and wanted to leave...I couldn't blame them though. There was a lot of chanting and I did not understand any of it because it was all in Japanese. Since it was early in the morning, it was hard to stay awake. I hope I never have to do that again!

After the service, we walked to the "Royal Host Restaurant" to have breakfast. It was a very yummy breakfast with a lot of variety. I had the French toast...very modern but very yummy(:

Breakfast

After breakfast we headed over to the Heian Junior and High school. We took a tour of the school and made new friends. Some of us went to a calligraphy class, while others went to learn a card game. We even went to their classes. (Social Studies and Science). During the cultural exchange assembly, we danced the hula for the Heian students. In return, they performed their version of the Nan-chu Soran Dance and an animation performance/show. After lunch, we had to say goodbye to all of our new friends at Heian and drive to the amusement park of Uzumasa Studio.

Calligraphy Class

This studio park was filled with many attractions, varying from haunted houses to learning the tricks of being a ninja! Almost all of us went into the haunted house, and I'm pretty sure that most of us will never go to another one again because of the pure scariness of it. In the end though, we all had a lot of fun. We then met back up to leave the studio...it was a blast and I'm glad we went.

By Karissa Racoma and Malia Leong

Temple at Honzan