Sports Day

Sports Day has arrived! The students have been practicing for weeks, as the whole school participates in this event. Last time I was an ALT, the school I was assigned to had already had their Sports Day so I was not able to see this event. This time around I get to see Sports Day!

Sports Day is a yearly event that pretty much all schools in Japan do. Everyone is expected to participate and each class is working together to get the most points. The picture below was the rehearsal schedule for the event during part of the school day and the main day was on a Saturday. I don't know Japanese so the translation was brought to you by the Google Translate app. 

During COVID, Sports Day was cancelled and then later shortened. Typically it would have been longer, but they have kept the shortened half-day schedule. It's also still a bit hot during September, and it felt like at times during practices that students were dropping like flies due to the heat. To be honest, as a student I think I would've hated Sports Day because I'm not very athletic, but would've had to participate anyway. Gomen (sorry) to my non-athletic students. 

Viewing it as a non-participating member was great and families also came by to see their students. Once it was over, students went home, but teachers stayed. We ordered a bento with sashimi for lunch. It was delicious! There was also a dinner celebration after work at a Chinese restaurant to celebrate all the hard work the teachers did for the event.