A World Jamboree- The Pre Tour: Part 1

To begin our time in Japan we explored the country on an eleven day pre tour, going to Tokyo and surrounds  down to Kyoto, Osaka and Koyasan. This is the Tokyo Chapter
As I stepped off the plane into the airport I could already feel the heat and humidity coming in from a Japanese summer. It was a bit of a contrast to Canberra which I left almost 24 hours before hand.  
After making our way through the airport we walked outside to be greeted by a not so pleasant 35 degree Celsius heat with 90% humidity. We were eager to get on the air-conditioned bus and make our way into Tokyo.
Our first stop was a roadside rest stop where we had our first experience of those famous Japanese vending machines and also those musical Japanese toilets... (I do not miss them).

We made our way to the Japanese future science museum where we saw everything from Robots to Rockets and even got to sit inside a submarine! The coolest and by far the creepiest thing in the museum was a human looking robot. When I first saw it I was pretty convinced that it was a human!

Next stop was lunch. We made our way over to a shopping mall and found a food court. For the record I do not speak any Japanese at all so ordering food was always a challenge unless you wanted Coke to drink. It appears that asking for a coke is a universal language.
I figured out how to order Takoyaki- Fried Octopus balls with vegetables and they were so delicious!

Takoyaki!

After lunch we made our way to the hostel to have the long awaited Japanese Bath.
Many tourists avoid the public baths during their time in Japan but we really had no option but to! Our hostel and most of the places we stayed at only had public baths so we go pretty use to them.

After dinner and a bath we went to bed pretty early, enjoying the air conditioning and the quite room.

We got up early the next morning to celebrate National Marine Day by visiting Tokyo Disney Sea!
I've been reliably informed that the rollercoasters are great and everybody had heaps of fun! I, however managed to get a lovely stomach bug which prevented me from going on any rides and eating everything expect for frozen mango.

Our third day in Japan was spent up in the mountains, going fro a walk and white water rafting. Again, I have been informed that it was a really fun day but my stomach bug was still there.

Part of the Walking Track- Photo by David McKay

  Day four was a much better day! The stomach bug was gone and we began our day by navigating the Tokyo Subways (To date, this is the hardest navigation task I have done!). We successfully made our way to the Tokyo Sky Tree and rode the lift almost to the very top! The view from the top was incredible! And the view from the glass floor was even better!

The view from the glass floor

   After a stop at the Sky Tree we made our way to the Meji Shrine. On the way to the shrine we stopped for lunch with some people having McDonalds or getting sushi from the 7/11
On our way back we stopped at the Sensoji Temple which was truly spectacular in the fading light.

The Sensoji

Day 5: We headed out of Tokyo to Mt. Fuji on the only raining day during our time in Japan. We drove halfway up the mountain and stopped at the tourist shops there, buying souviners, food and taking photos of the non existent view. It rained all day so we never saw the mountain but we did have noodles for lunch, and they were some really delicious noodles.
We headed back into Tokyo for our last night in the city, packed our bags and got ready to explore the rest of the country over the coming days.

A World Jamboree

There aren’t many people who can say that they camped for 2 weeks with 33,000 other scouts from 156 different countries and territories. Those who can, including myself will tell you that it is a truly life changing experience.

From the 19^th of July until the 13^th of August, myself and 300 other Australian scouts and leaders travelled around Japan and participated in the 23^rd World Scout Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan. It was an action packed few weeks where we experienced everything from tea ceremonies, to the exhilarating rides at Disneyland. There were so many amazing experiences and highlights which I look forward to sharing with you all over the coming weeks. 

Since I’ve been home, all my friends and family have been asking what the best thing of the whole trip was. My answer is simple- living with scouts from all over the world for 2 weeks, sharing each others cultures, languages and exchanging friendships.

Those weeks I spent in Japan are ones that I will never forget. I’m so looking forward to sharing my Japanese adventure with you all!