Everybody was kung fu fighting (Japan - Toyota)

OK, it wasn't kung fu, but I don't know of any ninja songs.

The return to an 8am start was welcome after yesterday’s long day.  The weather forecast has changed as the typhoon moved further away from us and what was a forecast for heavy rain has now been reduced to cloud and possible showers. We have a great deal of time on the bus again today as we travel to the ninja village.  However, I’m getting ahead of myself dear reader, the day begins with a calligraphy class.

Roll call ... sort of

Curiously the images on the board stay the same for each visit

 The class was set up with the special paper and ink and the teacher had already drawn a number of different cunji symbols on paper for the Gilroy students to copy.  She then demonstrated the significance of making a stroke on the paper on a special board.  Water was used for the demonstration and as the board dried the symbol disappeared.  This fascinated the students and Kayo was most excited.  I think we will be making a few purchases for the Gilroy classrooms as a result of this demonstration.

Demonstration and translation

The special board

Ciaran, Stephanie and the Japanese teacher

The students approached their task seriously, in the main, until Brianna started asking questions about whether there was a cunji for ‘swag’, ‘cool’ and ‘fried chicken’.  Brett was the only Gilroy teacher who tackled the ink and paper and produced some very good work.  Jean enjoys the dubious title of the first person to get ink on clothes – it was only a spot.

Brett and the Otani students

Ninjas at the lunch venue

It happened at the end of the calligraphy class, the word I was dreading, bus.  The ninja village was a 90 minute drive L.  The mood on board was subdued in comparison with yesterday, some of them were positively quiet – I think the hectic pace was beginning to take its toll.  That was until the 1 hour mark when some of the students began to get restless.  With the restlessness the noise level rose and culminated in the singing of “100 bottles of beer on the wall”.  Fortunately for us at 92 bottles we pulled into a service centre for lunch.  The good news, it stopped the song, the bad is that we were going to have to eat again and tonight is the big dinner with the PTA.  After surveying the menu 3 of us opted for fried chicken and rice.  The set also came with miso soup which we left untouched.

The ninja village is a strange set-up.  The shop where you get changed into the ninja gear is about a 300 metres from the ninja village and across a main road.  We would have looked really stupid in our outfits except that we were ninjas and no-one could see us.  The students breezed through the ninja museum, sadly, because I found it quite interesting although I didn’t get to read as much as I would have liked.  From there we went to the ninja house to see how the hidden compartments and secret passages operated.  For those of you old enough it was like being in an episode of Shintaro and I was Tombay the Mist.  Google it kids, better still try youtube, you never know.

The next activity was throwing ninja stars, real metal ninja stars.  As the young set say, swag.  We decided that we had a new use for the cricket nets at school.  Although I’m not sure it would take off in a safety-conscious nanny-state like New South Wales.  Normally we would leave the village but the teachers from Toyota arranged for the ninja show to be brought forward a few minutes so that we could attend.  It went for about 30 minutes and featured 2 carefully choreographed ninjas using a variety of real weapons.  It was interesting and I have a new-found respect for chopsticks as a weapon.

Ordinary chopsticks!

Brett in action

The real deal

Back on the bus for the journey home.  The kids were generally quiet and there was some napping.  However, the ninja show had made us late and we didn’t get back to the hotel until 5:45 which gave us exactly no time to change and be back downstairs to head to Mr Naito’s restaurant for dinner with the PTA and staff by 6pm.  Sadly, the father of one of the teachers had died during the day and Mr Kato, the principal and AP versions, were unable to attend.

The food was as fabulous as I remembered it and the saki kept flowing all night.  Just when you thought things were wrapping up another set of dishes would arrive.  Sashima: tuna and kingfish, prawns, sushi, meatballs, skewers of different varieties, it seemed endless.  It was a wonderfully relaxed and enjoyable evening.  Mr Ito was the life of the party and once again Brett and Miss Kajima came in for some good-natured ribbing.  Our host, My Naito was busy all evening ensuring we all had plenty to eat and drink.  The president of the PTA talked to me about his children’s experiences at Gilroy and the fact that he has hosted a Gilroy student for the last 3 exchange programs.  Presents were exchanged and the Gilroy key rings seemed to be the prized possession.

At the end of the evening Mr Naito told us it was to dangerous to walk back to the hotel for fear of pirates – he meant kidnappers.  I’ve never felt so safe anywhere, but he was keen to walk with us so that he could show us more hospitality.  We hadn’t walked 100 metres from the restaurant when he stopped at a Japanese pub and he ordered drinks and more food.  It was great to chat with him about his time in Australia and the importance the exchange program has in his life.  While we were talking I expressed my like for the rice crackers we were nibbling with our Asahi.  He momentarily disappeared and returned with 4 packets of the snack, one for each of us.  That really sums up Japanese hospitality and we could learn something from it – it is that concept of the other, rather than self that sometimes is lost in western society.

Another long day was at an end as we walked to our room around 10:30pm.  Thankfully, we all have the weekend free – except for Brett, he is going out with the young teachers – this is a first as it doesn’t sit well with Japanese hospitality, but we are most grateful.  There will be a post of the weekend’s laid back activities – late on Sunday, I think.