31 2.8- TheTrip (2/2)
When we reached our school's yard, there were quite a number of students from my class waiting for the rest to arrive and assemble. The yellow school bus had already been there and teachers were ushering them to go up into the bus at the same time to maintain orderly with the students.
Since it's now the start of a long break for us, definitely everyone was excited to go on an adventure trip as well spend time with nature there were a few red coloured igloo boxes on the ground and were being loaded into the baggage area of the bus. It would contain food and other beverages to sustain us for the 4 days and 3 nights into the wilderness.
Seeing the familiar faces within the group they clamoured into the bus and took the most rear seats as possible. ”Kenzo, I've reserved a seat for you here!” bellowed Itaru through the open windows at the back of the bus. ”Hurry up, we still got a few minutes to go before we leave!” said Einosuke as he shouted at my direction and immediately closed the window. Since it's a fully aircon bus, the windows were optional to be open or closed, most probably for the students who wished to sneak a smoke.
” Oi...coming you guys! ”I shouted back and subconsciously pulled Kagome's hand towards boarding the bus. Kagome didn't let go of her hand and she sheepishly followed and boarded the bus with me. Our baggage was brought up into the bus as well as there was ample space between the legs to place our bags.
Teachers made a final headcount and everyone was present. After all the students had boarded the bus, a teacher excitedly announces that we are going to move out in a few minutes. Roars of applause erupted in the bus and were told by the announcer that the trip would take between 5 hours and 30 minutes to 6 hours if we were to travel non stop.
However, the teacher announced that they are going to make intermittent stops so our journey most probably takes up more than 6 hours. The teacher checked the time and announced that it's time to move out at exactly 9 am.
Throughout the journey, all the students were very happy and took out their smartphones to take selfies or the sceneries around them. We made the following stops at Satsu Satta Pass Observatory for a short break of 30 minutes as well as to learn the history behind the outcrop that faces the sea.
Next stop we arrived at ”Shizuoka-shi Tokaido Hiroshige Museum” where we took an hour off to have a quickened lunch after we had made a short tour inside the museum. There was a river inside it and several tortoises can be seen sunning themselves on the flat rocks in the river.
The whole place was like a jump back into the past where samurai once used to be common. The beautiful archway, the single-storey buildings, and the serene surroundings were indeed pleasing to us as well as our cameras as we clicked away endlessly.
We later made another pit stop at the Yuikitada District for a short meal trip at Soba Noodle Shop. The sight of the students made the little quaint shop to be overcrowded and the proprietor was busy whipping up small bowls of ramen of their speciality. It took us 3 turns before the proprietor managed to feed us all.
The rest of the journey continued without many stops except for stopping at some R&R areas to freshen up. We were too full and too comfortable to leave our seats so most of us remained on the bus and snoozed instead.
After travelling for more than 6 hours, we had reached our destination and the time showed its already 6 in the evening. Since there was not much to do, we unloaded our baggage and assembled in the parking area. The place was very well maintained.
There were several Barbeque pits with wooden benches and tables, some dining area, numerous single-story dainty houses, a few large ponds with man-made fountains controlled by pumps, the ground was clean and not a speck of litter could be found and above all, there weren't much visitors except for us. I guess you would be able to imagine the whole camping ground. There was also a clearing for those who want to rough it out and pitched tents outdoors.
After our guide teachers assigned us our accommodation and explain about the do's and dont's of the campground, students were divided into 2 sections; the boys and the girls. As there we no planned Barbeque at this time, the teachers allowed us to mingle and around and explore the campsite. There was even a small convenience store in the middle of the campground! So hunger is not a question for those who stay in the campground.
We stayed outside till about 10 pm before we all headed towards our respective cottages. Mine was 0012 and was close to the main dining hall with several Barbeque pots around it. There were several water basins provided around the Barbeque area.
I unpacked my bag and arranged the items neatly in my footlocker at the end of the bed. My partner was Chikashi and he did the same to his items and placed them in his own footlocker. It was already close to 11 pm after we had arranged our things when one of our teachers poked her head inside the door and announced us to rest early for the night. She then switched off the lights near the door and left.
Since we had finished packing the things we went straight to our individual single bunk beds. Soon the lull of cicadas and other insects outside accompanied us as we fell asleep into a deep slumber.
Little that we realized a group of unknown persons with ill intent was prowling around the campground in the silhouette of the darkness...