Fukui

In fact, before returning to China in April, I started planning a trip to Japan. I applied for a visa in the United States and bought a Japan Shinkansen train pass that only foreign tourists can buy. I got in touch with a friend who has been teaching English for two years in Fukui, a large rural area in Japan. Just in time for the May Day Golden Week in Japan, she also has a week off and can play with me. The two compiled a shared file together, and roughly planned the next itinerary. It was the first time I flew alone to travel to a strange country, and I was quite excited. In Seoul, South Korea, I transferred to Osaka. It was already evening when I arrived in Osaka. I bought a Japanese-style Shrimp Burger at McDonald’s at the airport, and then hurried to catch the train. It was almost midnight when I arrived at Fukui train station. My friend drove me to her house. As soon as I entered the house, I felt very warm, and there was a sign on the small blackboard that welcome me.

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I went out for a morning run the next morning. Fukuoka is a large rural area, full of farmland and mountains, and the air is particularly fresh. Passing by many children who ride to school by themselves.

After that, my friend took me to visit the school where she taught, and by the way, I had a class with her students and practiced oral English. As soon as I entered the school, I had to change their indoor slippers. I showed them the photos of me taking American students to study in China. They were very interested and asked me a lot of questions.

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I had lunch with the students at noon. I had seen a documentary about Japanese students having lunch at school before, but it was even more shocking to see it with my own eyes. Preparation, distribution of meals, tidying up, recycling and sorting of garbage are all done by the students themselves, without the help of any teaching staff. There is not a single grain of rice left on everyone's dinner plate. After eating, everyone immediately takes out a small toothbrush from their schoolbags to brush their teeth, and their hygiene habits are super good.

After school, my friend took me to visit other facilities in the school: kendo hall, basketball hall, etc. A friend said that the number of students in this school has decreased from a few thousand students a few years ago to less than a hundred now, because most of the people living in rural areas have moved to big cities. Due to the pressure of work and society, the rate of newborns has been increasing year by year in recent years. Greatly decreased, aging is getting worse. Then we talked about suicide in Japan. My friend had two former students who committed suicide due to psychological pressure. It sounds really heavy.

In the afternoon, I went to Ichijodaki Falls, Kazura Suspension Bridge and the coastal cliffs with a high suicide rate. In the evening, I went to eat super delicious Iwamotoya ramen and fried chicken nuggets. I was so happy! This ramen restaurant has a vending machine after entering the door. You can order directly on the vending machine, sit down and wait for your meal, which is very convenient.

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When I got up early in the morning, my friend made a Japanese breakfast, and then went hiking with her friends, most of whom were teachers who taught English in Japan like my friends. Afterwards, we went to the mansion of my friend's Japanese friend. The two Americans, one Japanese and one Chinese, actually cooked a table of Mexican food.

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