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On our first Friday we all went to a neat little sushi bar (with a conveyor belt to deliver the food) and a karaoke bar afterwards. It took us forever to find a nice restaurant to go to – our groups met up after doing our various afternoon activities and began walking around one of the covered market streets in Kanazawa. Leo really wanted to eat “conveyor belt sushi” so we didn’t rest till we found one. It was quite crowded, but we really enjoyed it! Click here to see Leo’s photos from the sushi restaurant.

Apre became a favorite weekend activity for our group; it was the weekend bar we went to (teachers included) to get drunk, play pool or darts, and sing karaoke. We had planned with Yasuko to meet there, but after our sushi dinner we had a lot of trouble finding the place! We had Leo ask the locals for directions, since he was the best speaker among us, but had no luck. Finally we called Yasuko, and she told us how to get there. From then on, it was singing and drinking!

Leslie and Leo smile for the camera	Frances makes one of her patented faces	I show off my wasabi face
Frances sings while Osada-sensei poses	Leo, Frances, and Osada-sensei dance… Joy doesn’t seem to be into it	Yasuko really wants a turn at the mic
What — are we camera shy now?	Simon sings, Leslie mugs for the camera	Now it’s Simon’s turn to steal the picture from Leslie

The Rifare building is not just the location of our school; it’s a whole international exchange center. One of the features at Rifare is a cultural center where local volunteers come to teach foreigners about Japanese culture.

Our Friday activity was an origami class at the cultural center on Rifare’s 2nd floor. I thought it would be simple… but it ended up being really complex origami and was quite hard. We made throwing stars, pinwheels, and boxes. It was a lot of fun, and since we were all still getting to know eachother it was a good way to joke around and break the ice some more.