Teachers in Gunma

Once Japanese teachers let loose, they really let loose. Since it was a hotspring trip, I had thought it was going to be a relaxing trip to loosen the muscles and take a breather from work. How wrong I was. A staff trip consists of breaking out the alcohol as soon as the shuttle bus hits the road, and drinking whilst scoffing snacks and playing games, all the way to the hotel.

I had had a bad night's sleep the night before, and was hoping to catch up on sleep on the bus, but as it was, I just had to hope for an early night in. We arrived at the hotel with enough time to allow my lady colleagues a quick 15-minute dash to the baths before dinner. Dinner was a laidback affair with a game show afterwards, organised by the younger teachers for our entertainment. Japanese parties usually consist of several stages, and this evening was no different, with an hour's karaoke singing to follow until past 11pm. And because the purpose of the trip was hotsprings, we were allowed some time to make use of them, but "we must be at room # by midnight for drinks". And so I found myself sitting in room # sipping sake and nibbling fried squid and trying to make friendly conversation, all whilst trying not to nod off. By 1:30am, I had to plead tiredness, and left to finally, thankfully, crawl into my futon. An hour later, I heard my roommates, all ladies in their 50s, return tipsily to our room... before I drifted off again... to wake up to the sound of them rustling around at 5:30 in the morning to go to the baths... gosh, they have a lot of energy!

The next day was spent, sightseeing Ikaho, where we were based; played archery and watched sheep at a farm theme park; ate onsen manjuu (aka. steamed hotspring buns) and an L-size serving of Mizusawa udon; followed by a trip to a souvenir shop before heading back home. Well, not quite home yet, I had promised to attend a friend's SGI Halloween party, but after that, I was finally able to make it back home, exhausted but happy.