Tochigi Spring Camp

Hello parents and guardians,

This is a brief report of last weekend’s events at the Tochigi Camp. The Scouts present were Maya, Sasha, Ernie, Haku, Yota, and Riko.

After the multiple pickups, all the Scouts settled in for a long night drive. Since everyone was tired out from school activities earlier in the day, all the Scouts fell asleep quickly; it was smooth sailing to the cabin.

Once we arrived and everyone had woken up, it was eleven o’clock, so we worked together to move luggage up to the cabin and get ready for bed. There was plenty planned for Saturday, so when teeth were brushed and beds were made, all the Scouts were happy to go straight to bed.

The next morning, we got up around six-thirty to get dressed and ready for the day. Mr. Mark had already been awake for some time, preparing a delicious breakfast of pancakes, homemade blueberry compote, yogurt, and frozen mangos. With some assistance, the Scouts were able to dress and prepare themselves for the day. After enjoying breakfast together, we left in the van to go to our first activity: the pottery class.

Although none of the Scouts were familiar with making pottery, with the help of the talented instructor and their own creativity, the Scouts spent the morning working on crafting their own bowls and cups. The base of construction was the same, but each Scout ended the class having made a truly unique dish. Sasha, Ernie, and Haku made cups, drawing hearts and names and sculpting their cups short, tall, smooth, or wavy. Maya, Yota, and Riko made bowls, some for rice and others for desserts or salads, etching messages and shapes on the outside and inside. In three months time you can expect your child’s finished pottery to be delivered to you by Mr. Mark.

By the time we had finished the pottery class everyone was hungry, just in time for our next activity: fishing. We went to a local rainbow trout fishing enclosure, where the staff at the adjoining restaurant will grill any fish you catch. After we arrived, Mr. Mark demonstrated the proper fishing technique to the scouts, as well as safety precautions. Originally, we had thought that the fishing excursion would take some time, as fishing is known to be a more slow-paced activity. We were ready to wait, but instead just as Haku cast their line, he was pulling up a trout! Then it became a blur of catches, as the Scouts pulled up fish after fish in quick succession. Haku even caught three, and every Scout caught at least one. In no time at all, we had caught nine fish to have for lunch, so we packed up and gave our catch to the restaurant to cook.

Lunch was just what everyone needed after the madness of fishing, and the food lived up to expectation. Besides the grilled fish, we also had a choice of Japanese dishes as a main course. Most Scouts ordered either curry udon or cold dipping soba. The noodles were great, but fish were the real star of the meal. Once everyone had eaten their fill, we all got back in the car to head back to the cabin.

However, before stopping at the cabin, we made a brief detour to check the conditions at Mt. Chausu, our planned destination for Sunday’s hike. We learned from the ropeway conductors that conditions for the mountain were highly subject to change, and while the ropeway would be working tomorrow, it was very possible it would close midday due to unexpected high winds or rain. This caused us to begin reevaluating our hiking location.

That afternoon, we played card games like Uno and War while snacking. On his own, Yota kindly decided to share his snack for the day with the other Scouts. After spending some time relaxing indoors, the Scouts wanted to play outdoors, and spent the next hour outside with Dylan and Mr. Mark. Together, the Scouts had lots of fun playing Hide-and-seek and Tag in the spring forest surrounding the cabin.

When it was time to prepare dinner, everyone came inside to lend a hand. Maya and Sasha cut pork; Sasha cut carrots; Yota and Riko cut garlic; Ernie, Sasha, Maya, and Yota cut potatoes; Haku cut eggplants and made rice; and Maya cut onions. Altogether, their helping hands and Mr. Mark’s cooking brought our dinner together: a curry-stew with steamed rice. While enjoying the good food, we watched a movie Maya suggested and everyone agreed on, ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’. Most of the Scouts had a great time watching it, and although Yota and Riko were a bit scared by some of the food monsters and bad guys, in the end all the Scouts had a good evening. After the meal and movie were over, we worked together to clean up and get ready for bed. Soon enough, everyone was sound asleep in the loft.

The final day of the trip began bright and early like the first, as we had to repack and clean the cabin, as when we left for our first activity we would not be returning to the cabin. For breakfast, we had chocolate pancakes with fresh strawberries, as made by Michelle with help from Sasha and Maya. All the Scouts listened well and worked diligently to return the cabin to its original cleanliness and load up the van. With their help, we left for Mt. Chausu right on schedule.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, we decided that hiking Mt. Chausu would not be possible that day, due to both weather and hiking conditions. Instead we would hike an adjacent peak at lower altitude later in the morning. We spent the next hour playing with the Scouts in the snow. Ernie, Haku, and Dylan had a big snowball fight, with Yota and Sasha jumping in from time to time, while Riko acted as a commentator and filmed some of the action on her phone. Later, everyone took turns sliding down a slope before we got out of our wet clothes and made our way to our new hiking location at the base of Mt. Chausu.

The mountain had a breathtaking view of Komadome waterfall, as well as beautiful and challenging nature trails. In the valley was the historic, 300 year old bathhouse, Kita Onsen. The Scouts were fascinated by the warm streams created by the bathhouse’s hot springs. We stopped for a quick morning snack in the bathhouse’s garden, and then we were on our way. The hike took us across a sparkling spring river and up the side of the neighboring mountain on a winding trail, which made a difficult but fun trek. Despite the steep slopes, even Riko, the youngest Scout, was able to complete the hike with a smile. By the time we had made it back to the van, everyone was clamoring for lunch. Luckily, that was the next stop on the list.

Nasukogen service station is a rest stop with many amenities and shops, and we visited to enjoy their restaurant and gift shop. After picking their own meals, everyone sat down to eat together. When we finished, Maya suggested having soft serve as dessert, and of course the Scouts unanimously supported that proposal. Before getting back on the road, we had to choose souvenirs, and the gift shop was the perfect place. Each Scout chose at least one gift for their family, and one for themselves. Cheesecake was the most popular souvenir by far, but alpaca themed toys, mochi, and strawberry popcorn were some other selections. Once the Scouts had finished buying their souvenirs- which they did by themselves with minor assistance- we were heading home to Tokyo.

Much to everyone’s annoyance, there was traffic on the highway that evening, but the Scouts made the best of the situation. We played I-Spy games, sang songs, snacked, and had fun conversations with the other Scouts, and soon enough we had made it to the first drop-off, marking the end of the Tochigi Camp Weekend.

Both we and all the Scouts had a great time at the Tochigi Camp, and we hope we’ll see everyone again in the future. Thank you for attending!