9th Grade JHS Field Trip

After my long weekend in Kyoto, where I returned home at nearly midnight – I woke up early Monday morning preparing for a day field trip to Okayama with the 9th grade class at my JHS. Similar to anywhere else in the World, Japanese students also take part in field trips. However, unlike any trips I remember taking growing up, in the 8th grade Japanese students travel to far-off destinations often by air for national cultural studies. Based on my experience, the popular choice in Tokushima is a 2-3 night trip to Okinawa or Hokkaido. Typically, 7th grade students take short field trips within their prefecture and in the 9th grade its the fun day field trip to an amusement park – which I went on this past Monday. With over 100 students traveling in two charter buses, we set off for a Brazilian amusement park called Washuzan Highland in Okayama. After crossing the famous Seto-o-hashi bridge which connects Shikoku to Honshu, Washuzan Highland’s ferris wheel and roller coaster can be seen high in the distance. Located on top of a hill overlooking the Japan Inland Sea, the location of the park is unique from any amusement park I’ve ever been to. What made this visit even more unique is that Washuzan Highland is a Brazilian theme park. How did a Brazilian theme park come to be in this part of Japan, you ask? The answer, I have no idea. But it was fun! Although not a big fan of rides or heights, I sucked it up for the students. If a ferris wheel wasn’t already high enough, placed on top a hill takes Fear Factor to another level. Highlights on the day included samba dancing and watching two of my students take nearly 10-minutes to eat one Brazilian hamburger and finish a Brazilian drink in a food eating contest – while the Brazilians screamed a bit frustrated… “faster, faster!”