JJCSB!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 @ 7:51 PM

Ohayo Gozaimasu! Day 2- 19 DEC 2011

Our Japanese lesson before the trip really helps us a lot! Thanks Akiko! Arigato-gozimasu!

After a long grueling 5-hour flight, we finally reached Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Despite that, we summoned up the strength to begin our first day in Osaka. With the help of our guide, Fuuji-san, and our helpful driver, Natsu-san, we headed to our first destination, The Osaka Museum Of History, which is right next to the Osaka Castle! The morning was very chilly, but we still enjoyed the morning scenery there.

We had a better understanding of the history of Osaka from the museum trip. We started from the 10th floor and descended floor by floor to find the stamps as part of our learning journey.

Next we moved on to the majestic Osaka Castle. There are many artifacts at the Castle that enhanced our knowledge of the history and culture of Osaka. We saw a very beautiful bird's eye view of the castle grounds from the top of the castle.

Next we went to have lunch at a local restaurant at the Osaka Castle. We had a very satisfying lunch - Udon and hotpot!! After lunch, we saw the filming of The Amazing Race right before our very eyes. A few teams with camera crews ran past us in search of their next destination. Similarly, we ourselves starting heading towards our next destination: the Shinsaibashi, a popular shopping district in Osaka. We had an awesome time there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

At the later part of the day, we went for dinner at the hotel restaurant. Ittadakimasu! We had spaghetti and rice with curry and it was delicious ! :D

After dinner, we headed to the Moriguchi Culture Hall for a full band rehearsal. It was very productive and motivated us to do well during our actual exchange with Yodogawa High School and Heian and Toba High School!

After the rehearsal came a surprise! We pretended that everything was normal and bought a cake to celebrate Jasmine's 18th birthday at the Moriguchi Culture Hall. Happy 18th Birthday Jasmine!

Jasmine was pleasantly surprised and impressed us all by blowing out all 18 candles in 1 breath!

Tomorrow, we would be going to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka ! Do look forward to our next post ! :D Oyasumi-nasai !