In July, along with eight other guides and one leader from LaSER, I travelled to Japan for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree.
When we first arrived in Japan we met our host families and split off for 2 days of Home Hospitality. Even though we only had one full day we managed to do so much and really learnt about the Japanese culture. With our host family we went to a small festival, visited a giant Buddha, two temples and ate at two different Japanese restaurants.
Sadly, our time at Home Hospitality (or HoHo) flew by and before we knew it we were on the bullet train with the rest of our unit, speeding from Tokyo to Yamaguchi.
Once arrived at the Jamboree site it took a while for it to sink in really how many people were there. We spent the first few days settling in and working out where everything was. Then the activities started. The activities ranged from small onsite activities such as learning about science and going round the culture tent to larger offsite activities which included a day trip to Hiroshima and a nature hike.
In our free time we did many things such as exploring the site, taking part in and watching the football tournament and attending the Scottish units' ceilidh.
Just as we felt as though we had truly settled in and that we knew the way around the site it was time for us to leave. We said our final goodbyes to our new friends then got on the bullet train and headed back to Tokyo.
Our time in Tokyo was short but sweet. We had lots of time exploring Tokyo in our patrols. We travelled up the Tokyo Sky Tree and witnessed how amazing Tokyo looked from above. Visited an earthquake centre where we went on an earthquake simulator. Also visited many tourist areas such as Harujuku and Shibuya. We tried a variety of Japanese foods from restaurants and did a little bit of shopping.
Then just as quickly as it began, it was over and we were on an 11 hour flight back to London, and reality where we don't all live in tents or say 'hi' to anyone we see.