School Trip

It has been decided that my son's school trip will be canceled.
Originally, he was supposed to go to Kyoto and Nara in February of next year, when he is in his third year of junior high school.

I heard that a public elementary school near our school recently held their school trip,
and my son was complaining, asking why they couldn't go.

Since my son's school is a combined junior and senior high school, they also have a school trip in high school,
so although it is disappointing, I believe the teachers did not want to push it.

Right now, it seems the students are planning a day-trip-like event for each class to replace the school trip. There seems to be a restriction that they cannot cross prefectural borders, so each class is struggling to come up with ideas.

Listening to my son talk about this reminded me of my own school trip.

My elementary school trip was to Nikko. (Even now, this region goes to Nikko.)

I heard that the teachers from each school in the city decided the dates by drawing lots,
but our school had bad luck, and we ended up with the very last slot, late November.
I remember the teacher apologizing, saying, 'Sorry about that!' (laughs)

Once it gets to late November, Nikko is cold!!!
I still have a class photo from Senjogahara, and in the middle of light snow flurries,
the children in light clothing are standing frozen like stone statues. (^^;)

By the way, what kind of transportation did you all use for your school trips?

Believe it or not, the main way to go on elementary school trips back then was by Japanese National Railways (now JR)
special school trip trains! (I wonder if they still exist?)
It seems they were abolished at some point, and my son went by bus.

I believe two or three schools would ride the special train together.
We couldn't go to the other schools' cars, so we couldn't interact with them.

We took a bus from the school to the nearest station, and from there, we took a train to the JNR station where the school trip train was waiting.

Thinking about it now, I realize how luxurious that was.
After all, JNR had set up a special, almost non-stop schedule on a special route all the way to Nikko.

I still vividly remember passing through stations we didn't usually stop at.
We passed through Kawasaki and Tokyo, heading toward Tochigi Prefecture, where Nikko is located.

The train traveled along at a leisurely pace.
It was fun watching the city scenery gradually change into rural landscapes.
When the snow-capped Mount Nantai came into view, cheers erupted inside the train.

Even after several decades, the journey on that special train remains vividly in my heart.

When I became a junior high student, the school trip was to Kyoto and Nara.

Honestly, I wasn't in the same group as my close friends,
so unfortunately, the school trip itself isn't a very happy memory for me,
but I have an intensely unforgettable memory from it!

It's a funny story now, but...

We practiced boarding the Shinkansen over and over again!!! (^_^;)

Can you imagine it? (lol)

Actually, the junior high school I attended was a massive school, and
when I entered, there were 15 classes with 40 to 42 students each.
By the time I graduated, two new schools had been built and students were split off, but
even then, there were still 8 classes at the time of the school trip.

In other words, nearly 400 people, including teachers,
had to board the Shinkansen during its mere 5-minute stop
while carrying large luggage, so we held a simulation—or rather,
a Shinkansen boarding drill in the gymnasium beforehand.

The teachers used partitions to create a passageway that looked like a Shinkansen entrance,
and we students repeatedly checked how many minutes it would take for everyone to finish boarding while holding our luggage in front of us~ (lol)

This is the only memory of my junior high school trip that remains strongly impressed upon me.

When I told my colleagues about the boarding drill after I became an adult, they laughed and asked, 'Where are you from?!'

It brings back memories.

Memories of school trips remain in a corner of one's mind no matter how old you get.

I wonder how many children have been unable to go on school trips due to the influence of infectious diseases over the past few years.

The burden on the children is immeasurable.

I continue to hope today that daily life will return as soon as possible.

By the way, my son seems to be planning to go on an overnight trip to Kyoto and Nara with his friends once they become high school students!
I sincerely hope that the day will come when they can have a fun trip.