We woke to find that the sunny skies and warmer temperatures had returned. After a western style breakfast at the ryokan we set off for the train station.
Our first leg repeated the scenic trip between Takayama and Nagoya giving us the opportunity to see things we may have missed on the way up into the mountains.
We had a brief stop over in Nagoya before departing for Shinagawa Station near Tokyo. En route to Shinagawa, we were treated to views of Mt. Fuji from the windows of our train, though unfortunately the peak was covered in clouds.
In Shinagawa we were met by a couple of Inage teachers who then shepherded our group through first the Shinagawa station, and later the labyrinthine Tokyo station, as we caught two local comuter trains to Chiba, and finished with a short walk to the current site Inage Junior High School. Here we met with our homestay students, who were quite excited to see us!
We had a brief welcome ceremony where Mr. Worley, Sophia and Caleb gave greeting speeches. Then it was off to homes with the host families.
Tomorrow we begin our official visit to Chiba with an audience with Chiba’s Mayor Kamiya.
Japan 2024 