Recently, I went on a trip to Japan with my classmates. It was the Japan Study Tour (JST). The trip was great and I had lots of fun! My group and I ate some really delicious foods such as ramen, soba, steak, etc… We visited shopping malls, castles, buildings, and lots more. I feel like I bonded with my classmates a good amount and learned more about Japanese culture. One of my favourite parts of the trip was the homestay. This is also my assignment so… yeah.

We rode a bus to the Keiai Junior High School and waited in the library. Soon later, our penpal partners entered where we greeted each other. They presented us with signs to welcome us. After we took pictures individually, we separated. My penpal introduced himself and his name is Shintaro Nakao. He took me to his classroom where I introduced myself. After that, we headed to the cafeteria where he bought me soba. I couldn’t finish mine so I threw it in the kitchen sink…

We left the school to enter a train station to travel to a shopping mall with an arcade. We played some games and then met my friend, Jennifer. She was invited with her penpal to play with us. A few more games and then we headed to Kokura Castle. There we took a stroll through the castle and bought a fortune. I think me, Jennifer, and Shintaro got good fortunes, but Jennifer’s penpal didn’t. We also met Taylor and Kira while walking. After Kokura Castle, we ate some ice cream and took a bus to where the banquet would be held.

We performed our two hula dances to the Keiai students that were hosting and their parents. Shintaro congratulated me and his teacher and mother talked about how good of a performance it was. They were so nice and friendly. After the dinner was over, each student headed back home. I went with Shintaro and his mother, Yumiko to the car. I tried going to sleep until Shintaro said that he forgot his bag, so we had to drive back and retrieve it. After he got it back, I took a nap.

An hour later, we arrived at their house. It was dark so I couldn’t see anything other than the lights that were illuminated from inside. I was greeted by Shintaro’s dad, Takanori I think it was? I went up to the stairs that were SUPER steep and I found Shintaro’s cosy bedroom. There, I unpacked, got my clothes, toiletries, and took a bath. I was so confused to why the floor was wet but I remembered that Japan’s bathrooms are different compared to America. I felt very nice after a long shower and as I got to his bedroom, Shintaro said goodnight and turned off the lights. It was completely dark and quiet. So quiet that my ears were hearing a sound frequency that was annoying if you concentrated on it. Somehow, I managed to sleep.

The next morning I walked downstairs almost slipping on one of the steps due to how dizzy I was and went to the kitchen. Shintaro and Yumiko were there and they said good morning and if I slept well. I ate breakfast which was rice with some seasoning on it, a banana, hot cocoa, and pineapples. It was a filling meal, surprisingly. Shintaro explained that he had to do some club work (school work???) and he left me with his parents. I played on Shintaro’s Super Family Computer which is an NES in America for a little while and left. Yumiko and Takanori brought me to Mojiko Station where I explored its interior and museum. I also rode a train which had some sort of 90th year anniversary to it. In the museum, I tried a train conductor simulation and I completely failed, looking like a dumb kid. It was funny though. I told Shintaro’s parents that there are no trains in Hawaii so I don’t know how to control on. They understood me and we all laughed.

We got back in the car where we found Shintaro walking next to a police station… I was so confused. Yumiko was apparently mad at Shintaro and I heard “baka” which means “stupid”. I like to think that he did not do anything bad and it was just a mishap. We drove to a sushi warehouse area. We ate sushi and Shintaro shared some sort of famous soup with me. All the food there was delicious. Brady and Ridge were also headed here as found out from an Instagram story. We left before I could see them and we drove super far up a mountain with a cave in it. We explored the cave where there was a stream of water and droplets from the ceiling of the cave. It was very cold, so I used one of their jackets to keep me warm. Soon after, we left to go eat dinner.

The family brought me to a steakhouse where I ate… well, steak. I helped deliver drinks from a bar to the family and did a funny little Instagram review with Shintaro. It is on his highlights for his account. The food was very good and we brought the grandparent with us. He was not doing so well as he has some sort of problem and he choked on part of the steak. He made weird noises so Shintaro tried to calm him down. I felt bad for him and asked if he was ok. The family thanked me for caring. We got home and I was about to fall asleep until I heard that we had to go to the supermarket. I got dressed and headed out with Shintaro and Yumiko only. While we were in the car, we talked about each others culture. We got to exchange songs. He showed me his favourite song called “Identity” by Sakanaction and I showed him my favourite which is “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. We got to a place called Trial where we bought snacks for when I get home and the Shinkansen ride to Hiroshima. They bought me a shirt with a Shiba on it saying “Kyoto”.

As we got back home, I started to fall asleep, but then we got there. I showered and got ready for bed. I let him play with my Nintendo Switch while I was taking a bath. He said he would like to battle me later on in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. After the bath, I got upstairs ready to play but he was not there. I went downstairs to find the door slightly open with him studying. He did that for each night. I left him alone and went to sleep. The next day, I was awoken by Shintaro, telling me to eat breakfast. This time, I ate a banana, tea, ramen, and a peanut butter sandwich. I was rushed as I had to get to school on time.

I got to the school where we dropped off our bags in the library and left to perform in front of the whole Keiai Junior High School. I promised Shintaro that we would show him our contemporary dances, but it never happened. We did our hula and he seemed disappointed. I told him that we couldn’t do it and he said that it was alright. I felt so bad for making a promise that never happened. He loved Da Pump and he can dance to it. We even played that song on one of the arcade games on the first day we met. It was extremely painful hearing him say that he was sad.

Next, we went to a cooking class where we cooked some kind of Takoyaki tasting thingy. It was pretty good for being made from an entire bag of cabbage… I tried flipping the food over but kept failing. All the other people did great but I sucked. However, my last flip went very well and my table group clapped for me, lol. I was also responsible for keeping track of time. Luckily, Shintaro is a great cook so I can rely on not getting food poisoning. When we were done, we put sauce on it and ate on a table. It was really good apart from Tayne tripping over my chair. When we were done, we helped clean up and left the class to grab our bags and leave the Keiai and our penpals behind.

We were escorted to the blue bus where all of the Keiai students were outside saying goodbye. As I got to the bus’s door, I shook hands with Shintaro and said that we will keep in touch and I thanked him for everything. I got on the bus and opened the window to wave goodbye. I put my hand out for Shintaro and he clapped it. We both smiled and waved. All the students said their goodbye’s and the bus left.

In conclusion, my homestay experience was fantastic. I appreciated Shintaro and his family for taking care of me very much. To this day, I still miss him. I can keep in touch with him as I have him as a friend on Instagram and Line. The family has brought me to amazing areas where they did meet my expectations as said on my form. I said “I would like to explore Japan” which they did. Shintaro can speak amazing English. He wants to be a teacher when he grows up which explains his efforts in studying late at night. While I wished that I got to play with him more, I am happy that he is putting a lot of effort into his classes while maintaining a positive attitude. Shintaro is so funny in both Japanese and English! I know he will have a great future and I hope to meet him in Japan or in Hawaii in the near future.

Here is a site of Mojiko Station.

Here is a site of Kokura Castle

Shintaro (right), his friend (left).

Shintaro and his family.

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