Broke in Tokyo and Starting Camp

For all of you that were worried about me getting lost on my solo travel adventures, you can now take a deep breath. After talking to one of the USA Summer Camp directors I was able to meet up with him at Narita Airport.

            My last stop on my solo travels was Tokyo. At that point I was pretty much broke. It didn’t worry me. Tokyo is one of those places where you can either live like a king and spend a bunch of money or you can live like a pauper. I was definitely living like a pauper. I planned out my day so my breakfast and lunch were one in the same; cutting down the amount I ate to two meals a day. I mostly ate sandwiches and onigiri (rice balls). They were cheap and would fill you up for awhile.

Sky Tree

            My hostel was located in Asakusa. It was right on the river and across from Sky Tree, which is a big observation tower in Tokyo. The hostel had roof access so at night it was nice to sit on the roof and look at the lights on the tower and the boats pass by on the river.

            The first night at the hostel they were hosting a pizza party. I was excited at the chance to have some free food and meet some people. I met a group from Australia, two British guys, and an American. After the pizza was gone we went to a different neighborhood in Tokyo to have some fun. The only problem was the trains stopped at half past midnight so we would have to wait until the trains started again at 5am to get home. Our night ended after hanging out and chatting on a rooftop overlooking the city while we tried not to fall asleep.

Sensoji Temple

            I spent a lot of my time relaxing. I had already seen a big portion of Tokyo so I didn’t feel the need to rush around. Much of my day was spent reading in the park by the river, catching up on laundry, and taking walks. The time went by quickly. I never thought I was one for big cities but Tokyo is a place that I really enjoy. There really is something for everyone there. There are parks to hangout in if you need a little green time. There are tons of people to meet, things to do, and best of all, food to eat.

            When my relaxation time had ended I went to meet up with the director of the summer camp. I had exactly enough money left to pay for my train/metro tickets to the airport but afterwards I would be broke. This made me nervous because if I took the wrong train or bought the wrong ticket I wouldn’t have enough money to buy a new one. Luckily I made it there without a problem and found the director. The summer camp was going to reimburse me for the plane ticket I bought to get to Japan. This made me happy because I would have money again.

            The first night we were at a hotel. I got to see all the different people that would be counselors. The counselors are called AC’s (American Counselor). We were split into teams. Each team would work together at different camps. I was on team six which was one of the smaller teams.

Mt. Fuji

            Next we went to a camp in Gotenba for training. It is right by Mt. Fuji. When the clouds aren’t in the way you can see the mountain towering over the main square. Gotenba was just like any typical camp. We slept on cots, ate food in a mess hall, and the baths were public. There was one building that was full of classrooms that could be used. This was where our orientation would occur.

The Facility filled with Classrooms

            Our team had the shortest amount of orientation time. We had two days. During this time we made signs and props, learned camp songs and games, and tried to understand what running a camp would be like. We spent hours in a room working on making stuff for the coming camps. It was a lot to take in all at once. No one really knew what we were getting into.