Rain, Rafts, and Riddles: The Spring Eucalyptus Odyssey

Enoshima Beach Day

For our first day on the June Odyssey, Kartika’s advisory group planned an outing to Enoshima. After a long train ride, we arrived on the pier, and hiked up the central mountain of the island, passing quiet temples and cafes. We explored the natural cave system on the island, which was filled with statues and other monuments that post-modern peoples had laid there. 

There was a theory that if you went through the entire cave system, you would end up in the icy caves of Mount Fuji! The beach was looking bleak when we arrived, with no sun and even a slight drizzle of rain. That didn't stop us from having fun, however, as people quickly started swimming and splashing one another, and having fun. Enoshima was the first trip on our Odyssey, and was fitting for that title.

Hiking Mount Takao

When we first reached the foot of mount Takao, we prepared for a long, arduous hike full of rain and mud. And we GOT a long, arduous hike full of rain and mud. But we had fun. The trail may have been rainy and wet, but that didn't stop us from telling spooky stories, and making memories. We treated ourselves to some inarizushi for lunch, and energy bars and Calorie Mates were passed around and eaten. 

Fog lay low over the quiet forest, and raindrops splashed around us, cooling our bodies as we ascended. The scariest part of the trip was the appearance of the Wailing Banshee of the North, who’s scream we heard emanating around the valley for miles. They say on the fourth scream, someone in your hiking party is tempted to jump off the edge of a cliff and kill themselves. Other than that paranormal occurrence, we also heard the mating call of wild boars, signalling the start of summer. We went home tired, but content with our experience.

The Great Scavenger Hunt

On Wednesday, we were instructed to come to school at ten o’clock in the morning, which was already a great start for us, as that meant we could sleep in. We gathered at school to walk to Shiba Park, where we could start the first part of the hunt. We formed groups of three to four people, and were each given some money to go out and buy three souvenirs, and all the groups would be judged on which souvenirs were better. After that, we did the same thing but with gross food. Each team had to consume their gross foods in an eating competition. After a few minutes, and a lot of screaming and retching, we departed for Yoyogi Park where we would participate in the final scavenger hunt of the day: a hunt for people. We had to seek out Kartika, Chris, and Patch through riddles they gave us at the start. 

With the sunlight quickly vanishing behind the leaves, we went back to school for a Mexican dinner and movie night, where we watched Star Wars: A New Hope. We went home with full hearts and stomachs, to prepare ourselves for the next, and final day of our odyssey.

White-Water Rafting In Okutama

For our final day, Emily’s advisory group planned an outing to Okutama, where we would go river rafting in the Tama river. The journey was long, but after arriving, we went to a local park for a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. While the sandwiches were ahem of questionable making, the rafting was really fun. We all got in a bus to go down to the rafting site, where each of the advisories went neck and neck to be the first raft to touch the shore of the finishing spot. 

Along the way, we splashed each other with our paddles, and attempted, with any means possible, to slow down the other groups. Along the way, our guides led us to a tall rock, from which we each took turns doing thrilling jumps into the frigid water. In the end, Emily’s advisory secured a win by boating away after they had taken their turns jumping off the rock, leaving the others in the dust. 

This experience was a fitting end to the Odyssey, leaving us with tons of memories to hold onto. Despite a few mishaps happening while we travelled on the train from place to place, the Eucalyptus June Odyssey was a huge success, and a bonding experience to remember.

Archer Hannan

Eucalyptus Class of 2025