First Day Bike Tour

First thing in the morning was a 2 hour informational meeting where first everyone introduced themselves in Japanese, then there were some presentations about our surroundings. What cities and towns are nearby, which places would make good weekend trips, and some of the interesting facts about Shiga prefecture (the 'state' we are staying in). Shortly after that we recieved our JCMU-supplied bikes, and started on our bike tour.

Everyone was divided into groups, and we were led around Hikone by a Japanese college student studying at a nearby university. They showed us important places like the the nearest coffee shop, resturant, and karaoke bar; as well as less important places like the supermarket, convienence store and train station.

We had lunch in the food court of a Wal-mart-esqe supermarket. McDonalds seems to be a favorite of many Japanese, but most of the american students chose a Japanese fast-food type of stand.

After the bike tour was done, we headed back to the JCMU campus to relax. Most of us here forgot at least one important item, so we decided to head back to the supermarket to see what we could find.

Most people have a good idea what they want to buy when they walk into a store. Walking in was staggering, we had no idea what we even wanted to look for. Walking around looking lost, I eventually found some staples: bread, milk, rice, some tea, ramen.

Dinner was at the resturant next door to JCMU, similar to a dennys but serving curry rice, steak, and other seafood related meals. Here we see the girl next to me with a Denny's classic:

 

French toast and beer.

This morning is going to be the placement exam, and then the home-stay interview this afternoon. Also on the schedule: A high school is coming to give a presentation, and we all were invited.