Japan

I took a trip to Japan as one of sixteen Junior Ambassadors of the City of Lubbock right after 9th grade in 2008. We spent months learning about Japanese language and culture. The trip was a while ago, so I don't have a ton of  pictures or stories, but I still cherish what I do have.

Rush hour at the train station

A trip to the zoo turned into playtime for us!

Although we did eat a lot of traditional Japanese food, we also had meals at McDonald's and a Mexican food restaurant (above)

Some of our guys were a little too tall for the Open Air Museum!

Trick Museum in the Tokyo Tower

Gorgeous view of the Tokyo Tower as we were leaving

We felt like celebrities at the Musashino Town Hall. Officials, spectators, and journalists were standing outside clapping for us and shaking our hands. We then sat in on a meeting and received many generous gifts from the city. 

We visited a school and got to go to some of their English, Art, and PE classes

Here's some of that traditional food I said we ate! I was the only one in the group to (accidentally) eat a jelly fish out of our soup that day. I thought it was an egg like the other floating blob...

We tried on kimonos with our home stay family

Goodbye dinner! We held a talent show for our home stay families, including singing "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly 

Comment below - Tell me about your favorite things in Japan. I need to know what to visit next time!