Today was a fun day. We began by touring a noodle factory. No! Really!
It was pretty cool. Somen noodles are a wheat noodle made in Japan by hand & they are the thinnest noodle you can imagine. They are cooked by simply adding them to hot broth - they soften & cook instantly.
We saw how they are made by hand - a 2 day process - and then we got to go back into the factory & actually stretch some out to length. It was fun. Get ready parents - students bought lots of pasta :-)
After a lunch of somen noodles, we traveled to Osaka for a tour of Osaka Castle. It is an impressive place. Look forward to the photos. From there, we came onto the airport hotel. The Hotel Nikko is very nice & literally connected to the airport. Getting to check-in in the morning should be a snap :-)
I'm sitting here in the hotel lobby 'poaching' their WiFi. Our plan is to meet in the lobby @ 6:50 am for our departure home. We fly from Osaka to Tokyo. We leave Tokyo @ 11:30 am and land in Dallas (13 hours later) @ 9 am! After a short layover, we travel on to Cleveland.
So, our trip comes to an end. It has been a great experience: challenging, enriching, thought provoking. As we said goodbye to our host families today, there were tears and promises of staying in touch. This will be a trip that your children may be 'unpacking' for awhile :-)
We will see you on Thursday around 3:30 !
Sayonara
This is so amazing to read about! I graduated in '99 and did the exchange when I was in 7th & 8th grade! Just wondering if you have contacts with some of the old exchange students in Japan from back then? I remember Daichi, Isao Sowa, Chiaki Motsumoto and Hisano. Glad to know y'all are still enjoying the same incredible experience I had all those years ago, which freaked me out back then, but was is so meaningful to me now!
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