As part of the program, we were of course not supposed to enjoy ourselves too much but also needed some educational output, hence today we created posters, which described what we learned and experienced with our tandem partner at Yamanakako. On our way back home, we then passed Oshina Hakkai, a touristic village between two of the great lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji. Admittingly the scenery is amazing, however also touristic. I drew another good luck fortune, this time it was with regards to my love life and it turned out to be … again only a small luck. Well i feel lucky to attend this amazing exchange program already, no need for additional luck in love 🙂
After we finally arrived at Yamanashi University, we decided to go for a barbecue eat out. Luckily, Fuka and Tarou were able to recommend a great spot and even joined us. On the way to the barbecue place, there was also a photo booth, which Fuka excitingly wanted to show us. However calling it a photo booth such as we know it in Germany would be an understatement. This store had around 6 different photo booth models. The basic principle is that you would insert 400 – 500 Yen and take eight photos. You would be able to see yourself, just like taking a selfie, but the picture would turn black once it counts down to one. There was also no manual setting to when the countdown would start, but it would start automatically, once around 15 seconds passed. Afterwards photo alteration could be done as well. Although the photo booth already edits the photo heavily, the user can still edit manually such as resizing eyes, mouth or change the skin color. And just like before you only had a set amount of time to make the alterations. I feel like the procedure is intentionally made such that you don’t know how your photo looks like and need to hurry while editing it as part of the photo booth experience.
Speaking of being in a hurry, when we arrived at the barbecue spot, we decided to go for the all-you-can-eat option, which had a time limit of 90 minutes. During that time, we could order as much food (meat) as we wanted. Depending on the all-you-can-eat option you chose, you would be able to select different kinds of items. Once we placed our first order, we were given a receipt with a QR code that identified our table. Using the QR code, we could order any item on the menu. At first, we were a bit hesitant, but we quickly got the hang of it and started ordering almost randomly. After about 40 minutes, I had already lost track of what we had ordered and what was actually on my plate. If the grill gets to dark from the meat sauces, you could also ask the staff to change it for you.
Overall, the barbecue was a wonderful and leisurely experience, despite the time limit, and we grew closer together as a group. Despite having only known the local students for two days, it felt like a regular hangout with friends because our wavelengths overlapped so well. The time we spent together was truly precious to me, and saying goodbye was difficult for everyone.
