Mayajima Island, Part 1

 Rylee's Yochien had a field trip on Friday to Mayajima Island.  Super fun!  I wanted to go!  Fortunately, parents are required to go, that worked out well for me.  The preschool field trips are quite a bit different than in the US.  We met at the school, got on separate busses, rode the ferry together, then walked to the Aquarium.  Once at the Aquarium, we dispersed and were on our own till 2pm, when we were to all meet back at the busses.  It was kind of nice to do it that way so we could all spend time doing what we wanted.

So, Mayajima Island is about an hours bus ride plus a 5 minute ferry ride from Iwakuni. It has several attractions: a large shrine, some hiking, the Aquarium, and the deer that freely roam and are really just like untrained dogs.  There are lots of little touristy shops and eateries. I was not brave enough to drop Y800 on something I couldn't identify, so we snacked on the food I brought and limited ourselves to ice cream.

On the ferry.

Gathering on the island for the 30 minute trek to the Aquarium. 

Walking in lines with their buddies.  Rylee is with one of the 3 other American students in her class.

(Don't they totally remind you of "Madeline"?!) 

Someone wants in the shop! 

It was so fun to see the deer everywhere!  I wanted to go pet them, but we had to wait. 

This mom went to say hi to the deer.  The deer put its nose in her son's face and the kid freaked out.  I love how the mom is laughing.  (It was pretty funny!) 

There are 4 or 5 different classes.  This is Ryee's class.  They were trying to get a class shot with the parents. (Rylee is in front in the middle.)

They did another class shot once we reached the Aquarium. You can see it was a stinking hot day and all the kids ditched the jackets.  Now you can see who wore the appropriate white shirt underneath!  (Not Rylee!) 

Finally at the Aqurarium and on our own! 

The tide pool where you could touch stuff. 

There were some beautiful starfish in there.  You can't tell but the one was a really pretty purple. 

These little eels were the creepiest things ever!  They just poked out from the ground like snakes and swayed around. 

Such pretty fish! 

Thank goodness for a traditional toilet, and check out all the fun extras you can use!  

This section was neat.  They had an aquarium with the fish in it, then a display with the dishes made with that fish, and then an info card that told you (in Japanese) about it.  It was fascinating. 

And icky. These eels are cooked, but look at those teeth! 

Back at the tide pool 

And on to the penguin display. 

Rylee even got to pet the penguin. Adorable! 

Aaaand back to the tide pool.  You can see what the favorite place was!  This was a 4 legged star fish. 

And my girl was brave enough to pick this up! 

A Sea Cucumber!  She said it was squishy.