19/09/15 - Trip to Osaka

Regardless of the Nomihodai the night before, everyone was awake to leave at 8:45 for an all day trip to Osaka for tonnes of activities which I wasn't completely sure I was ready for. The trip was payed for by the University and we were taken everywhere by bus, so I was really happy about that. It's nice to have these experiences - even some of the Japanese students haven't been to the places we went to on the trip.

First we went to a museum. They had completely recreated an old Japanese town that you could walk around in and be apart of. It was so cool! We were given quite a lot of time to walk around in it. I loved taking off my shoes and walking on the special wooden floors, because the wood was just so smooth. At one point, they had what I think was a special demonstration where it changed to night time and there was a thunder storm. The roofing went dark and through the speakers made the noises of thunder and once that was over the whole ceiling was covered in a rainbow covering. Unfortunately we had to leave that area while everything was happening, but it was so cool at the time. 

Then we went upstairs and looked around briefly and there were all these miniature displays telling the history of Japan. There was a large one just showing a battle that happened in Japan and another that was just an amusement park. Apparently the amusement park still exists today, but only parts of it. I think it would be cool to see it in person! 

After leaving the museum, we were treated to lunch at a cute restaurant. Everyone was given the same meal, and I ate as much as I could but I was still feeling a bit sick from the night before. We stayed there for a really long time because people just kept requesting more and more food and it didn't seem to be an issue because the University was paying for everything! Just say more and you get it! 

The most anticipated part of the trip ended up being my least favourite, unfortunately. However, I have my intense hangover to thank for that. The trip ended at the Yamoto Noh Theatre where we watched a number of different short performances to show us what they're like before seeing full performances. Unfortunately for me, most of them were extremely loud and used a lot of drums and high pitches flutes. Aside from the piercing headache, and not being able to stay awake for some portion of the performances, it was amazing seeing them perform. They had some incredible costumes and they really connected with their art form. Despite feeling terrible, I still enjoyed it. I'm glad I didn't stay back at the dorm like many others who couldn't recover from the Nomihodai.