We left Nojima Youth Centre before 1200 hours and proceed to next stopover in the middle of the highway, Umi-hotaru.
Umi-hotaru (海ほたる ,Umi-hotaru, literally meaning "sea firefly") with a rest area consisting of restaurants, shops and amusement facilities. The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line (東京湾アクアライン ,tōkyō wan akua rain?) is a bridge-tunnel combination across Tokyo Bay in Japan. It connects the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture with the city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, and forms part of National Route 409. With an overall length of 14 km, it includes a 4.4 km bridge and 9.6 km tunnel underneath the bay—the longest underwater tunnel for cars in the world.
Afterthat, we proceed straight to the Narita Tokyo Airport for our flight back home to Singapore.
In all honesty, today's trip wasn't one we were all looking forward to, but having done it anyway, we were pleasantly surprised. It was a short visit to Kitagata Elementary School. Unfortunately the school is very sticky about photography because the students were not "media friendly". We are not allowed to publish any of their students' photos, but here's a lot of us in the school anyway.
We arrived to the excitement of the students who were glad to practice the simple English phrases which they were taught to memorise. Phrases such as "Hello", "Good Morning" and "How do you do?". We were told that the Japanese curriculum for English focusses on teaching vocabulary, so Japanese students know many English words and their translation to Japanese, however having the lack of grammar, they are unable to communicate in English confidently.
Some of us are glad to be studying in Singapore as our lessons are more interesting and interactive. However what was impressive about Kitagata Elementary was their focus on Visual Arts and Music. In the closing programme, the students from Grades 5 and 6 performed the playing of recorder, singing and the band played the theme of Indiana Jones, much to the delight of the Singaporean contingent (see video).
Right after the performance, we were back to the classes for school lunch. In Japan, Elementary Schools provide lunch for their students as a means to control their diet. The lunch was a healthy balance and prevented the students from eating unhealthy food or eating excessively. We left the school after a short closing speech from the Vice Principal and presentation of tokens.
As we returned to Nojima, the remianing groups who have not performed practiced in preparation for their performance in the evening. Time in the afternoon flew past so quickly that before we knew it, it was time to gather for the International Dinner.
The mood in the entire campsite was one of excitement as Cub Scouts, Scouts, Leaders and Parent Volunteers arrived from all over Kanagawa, Tokyo. The dinner began with a few formalities... speeches from the Commissioner, Scout and Cub Scout representing the Kanagawa Council, as well as from a Sub-Camp Chief and Cub Scout representing the Singapore Contingent.
Dinner was a great way to break ice and for Scouts and Leaders to mingle, talk and exchange namecards, scarves and badges. The Singaporeans also got so many origami handicrafts, it was impossible to count.
The night ended with the impressive performances from us "Skipping Mustapha", the River Valley RaVens with Radin Mas Dragons "Chan Mali Chan", and Yangzheng Yueng Ching Open Scouts "Fancy Drill". We bid farewell to the Japanese Scouts and Leaders in the same way we did with the Scouts and Leaders of Osaka at the Osaka Prefecture Children's Centre. With that, Day 9 was over. We all went for our bath before bed with mixed feelings since we'll be on our way back to Singapore soon. Sigh. Otter led us in our daily reflections tonight.
We have been in Tokyo the past two days. Everyone is safe and well, however there is no internet connectivity at the Nojima Youth Centre. We apologise for the communication blackout, however there is nothing we can do, especially with the rigid 2200 hrs curfew imposed on everyone.
We are now at the Kitagawa Elementary School and are borrowing the internet here. Unfortunately we will not be providing further updates until we get back to Singapore. See you back in Singapore in a couple of days. In the meantime, enjoy the photographs from Days 5 and 6.
p/s: Sorry no other school gave us photographs and since all the schools went their own separate ways, we don't have photographs of other schools either.It's a happy day for both the young and old! We were up and about and quickly done with our breakfast routine and off on our way to 東京ディズニーランド Tokyo Disneyland!Tokyo Disney Resort was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and was opened on April 15, 1983. The park was constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering in the same style as Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. It, along with its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not owned by The Walt Disney Company.
There are seven themed areas, each complementing each other yet unique in their style. Made up of the World Bazaar, the four classic Disney lands: Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and two mini lands, Critter Country and Mickey's Toontown, the park is noted for its huge open spaces to accommodate the massive crowds the park receives
Tokyo Disneyland began celebrating the 25th Anniversary of its grand opening in April 2008, with special events, entertainment and merchandise.
At Tokyo Disneyland, we tried a new Spanish Churro Flavour, Honey Lemon. But more than anything, we tried many more popcorn flavours, which included Honey Popcorn, Soda Popcorn, Chocolate Popcorn and the most special of all, Curry Popcorn.
As for rides, our favourite must have been Space Mountain, followed by Big Splash Mountain. Too bad Space Mountain was too dark, so we only had photographs from Big Splash Mountain. The day ended with all of us completely tired out. Who would have thought that having fun would be so tiring?
It was the ride of a life-time! Imagine having to get 148 people on the train in less than 5 minutes and off in less than 1 minute! But we made it! En route, the SE News Team which had been under tremendous pressure to update the Camporee blog using a very slow internet connection continued to work, collating and editing photographs.Upon arrival, we were greeted by representatives from the Kanagawa Scout Council at the Yokohama Station. We were quickly directed to our buses, which incidentally had cute names such as Strawberry Poodle, Banana Poodle, Melon Poodle and Marine Poodle. The buses took us to our next campsite near a river, the Nojima Youth Centre.Unfortunately they did not have internet connection and we were unable to update the blog. We quickly checked-in, assigned rooms and were ready for dinner. At Nojima Youth Centre, we were required to wash our own dishes after each meal. After dinner and washing, everyone took their bath quickly and were all in bed resting as it was an exciting day next. Our trip to Tokyo Disney Resort!
Ohayo gozaimasu Singapore! We'd like to begin today by sharing a news article. A reporter turned up on Day 4 as we started our activities with the Japanese Cubs and the article was quickly published on 30 November 2008. We just received it:
DISCLAIMER: We did not have a hand in whose photo was featured. The reporter took his own photos.
150 SINGAPORE CUB SCOUTS ENJOYED KAIZUKA Yesterday at the Osaka Children's Centre, 130 Scouts of Senshu-Minami District, Osaka Scout Council interacted with 150 Cub Scouts of the Singapore Scout Association who were visiting Japan for their 4th Goodwill Cubs Camporee.
After greetings from Ms. Madelene Seow, the Cub Scout Programme Commissioner of the Singapore Scouts, and the International Commisioner of SAJ, Mr. Yoshio Danjo, Cub Scouts were mixed into four groups and led to enjoy adventure walk, archery and outdoor cooking - see the picture -. They will continue their programme today.
Justin Lee, 12, said "Japan is bit cold but it is fun to play with new friends. Cooking was very much fun."
Translated by Natsuki Takano International Service Department, Scout Association of Japan
We are now preparing to leave the Osaka Prefecture Children's Centre. Area cleaning is one big headache with lots of unclaimed lost and found... We are almost done and ready to depart for the Shin Station (Bullet Train) for our ride to Tokyo.
We'll give you more updates when we find an internet connection when we arrive. Its not easy to coordinate the collection of photos from all 12 packs and to update quickly (its almost immediately after the event), but rest assured, the news team is doing its very best.
As we leave Osaka, here's a collage of some of the camp food while we were in camp, just to assure you that your children have been eating well. ;) Anyway, the news team stayed up late last night to sieve through the many photos and selected a few from each day. Do scroll down again to look through the posts from Day 2 so as to see these newly updated photos. The office here closes at 11pm so we only have an hour each day to update this blog. Thanks to all the parents who have expressed your understanding and appreciation. We will continue to work very hard!
SE News Team signing out, from Osaka. See you in Tokyo!
I am posting because I could not send out SMSs today. Vincent's fever had subsided, Hanyang and Jordan are very well. They are all tired though. Will call again when we reach Tokyo tomorrow.
Love, Vincent, Jordan, Hanyang, Ms Goh and Mdm Lee
Immediately after breakfast, we went to the Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle). This UNESCO World Heritage Site was built as a Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun in 1603. It was completed in 1626 with additional buildings. This castle is one of the finest examples of Momoyama architecture in Japan. At the castle, we visited the Ninomaru Garden. We all enjoyed the breath taking sights very much.For lunch, we went to Kyoto Shin Station's underground mall, Porta. The Ramen there was very good. The visit to Heian Shrine was right after lunch. There was actually a wedding ceremony going on when we were there. The wedding area was out of bounds unfortunately.The Golden Pavilion or Rokuon-ji Temple was next. It was actually a villa in the past but was changed into a temple. The garden was not changed so it can still be enjoyed as of a hundred years before. The sights there even in winter, was still very beautiful. We still managed to enjoy the scenery even though we were rushing for time. Dinner was splendid at a huge shopping mall probably owned by Jusco. The wide variety of food available made us have quite a hard time, as we had to choose what we wanted to eat. After dinner, back to the campsite we went. and as usual, there was bath then lights out.
It was an enjoyable and hectic day at Kyoto. Activities included visits to shrines and shopping and dining. Some of the boys managed to find the game cards they were looking for and were elated. Thanks to all parents and loved ones who posted on the tagboard, we've received all your messages and well wishes. We'll keep you posted on future activities.
