2024 Autumn 🍂 Ehime AJET Event Recap.

This fall, Ehime AJET organized a wide variety of exciting events for the mikan community to enjoy together. With activities on the athletic and adventurous side, to the creative and (a ‘lil) nerdy 🤓 side, folks from across Ehime (and even Shikoku), JETs and non-JETs alike, had the chance to share some good vibes all-around.

Read on for short blurbs about each event and a few words from participants paired with some awesome commemorative photos (thank you to everyone who shared)!

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Living in Ehime, the most memorable adventures are often the ones in the great outdoors – but the best ones are in the treetops! That was the idea behind September’s outing to Forest Adventure Saijo where a group of fourteen JETs bravely geared up to conquer the high-flying course. With rope bridges, wire walks, zip lines, and beautiful riverside scenery, each ALT took a leap of faith in what would turn out to be one of the most exciting events of the fall season.

Zosia (a 1st-year ALT in Saijo) said of the event, “With the weather cooling down slightly, it was so nice to be able to do something in nature! I’ve done stuff like this before, but the zip lines in Saijo were so much longer and more fun; we even zip lined over a river! Also, it was so nice to meet and catch up with the Ehime JETs again!”

After a full day of overcoming successive death-defying challenges from a bird’s-eye view, the adventure finally ended at a Japanese restaurant to the sound of glasses clinking and talk of more exciting outings soon to come!

Quotes from the Adventurers

We put our agility, balance, and strength to the test. The result was overwhelming support as we encouraged each other to overcome obstacles and plenty of laughter at the tangled situations we found ourselves in, having too much fun.

Seven

1st year JET, Ozu

This was a fun event that highlighted the diverse activities in the area and brought fun, adventurous people together.

Caitlyn

1st year JET, Saijo (Komatsu)

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This year’s football tournament was a day full of sweat and tears (no blood, thankfully), where the heart and determination of each player came through on the pitch. It was a SMASH! Literally. Despite having a couple of player collisions, the display of comradery and sportsmanship was as unparalleled as Ralph’s kick (iykyk). With participants from Kagawa & Kochi (team Guy Jeans!), Tokushima and Ehime, it was beautiful to see folks from across Shikoku come together to enjoy a day of friendly competition and good fun!

Tournament TL;DR version: Pro goalie blocks・New JETs strutting their stuff・Collisions x 🪦Ankles・Close battle between Shikoku Yokai & Guy Jeans・SWEAT EVERYWHERE

The Teams

Ehime Earthquakes 🍊

I Like Football FC⚽

Shikoku Yokai 👺

Guy Jeans 👖

Mini Play-By-Play

All-in-all, it was a close tournament! Team Guy Jeans and Shikoku Yokai were neck and neck all day, winning the majority of their games. However, no matter how many games they won, Shikoku Yokai just couldn’t seem to get a win against their rivals.

Although a bit behind in points compared to Shikoku Yokai, team I Like Football FC, was one of the only teams who could get a win against team Guy Jeans!

The Ehime Earthquakes had some tough opponents but that didn’t stop them from going all out! Even though their team was on the bottom, they never gave up and gave it their all ‘till their last game!

The Results

Click to see! ↓↓↓

The winning team 🥇 of the 2024 Shikoku Football Tournament is….

GUY JEANS 👑!!!

2nd🥈Shikoku Yokai

(by just 1 point!)

3rd🥉I Love Football

4th🏅Ehime Earthquakes

Quotes from the Players

I wish you’d stop going for my ankle…

Neo

Shikoku Yokai

First game, heart’s racing, I got clammy palms too. From the goal I gaze out at the expanse of a far too small 6 aside football court. Will this rag tag team stand up to the test? I brood. We did emphatically, with a 3rd place finish, the name “I LOVE Football FC” will stand the test of time.

Hugo Beckwith

I Like Football FC

After we lost the first game, I thought it was over! But Team Guy Jeans buttoned up and pulled through! 🙂

Tanner Halbert

Guy Jeans

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Tucked away in the mountains of Saijo is a secret – a big one! What many people don’t know about the humble mikan prefecture is that it’s home to the tallest mountain in western Japan. Towering at 1,982 meters Mt. Ishizuchi stands like a trophy high up in the clouds and acts as Ehime’s ultimate outdoor challenge! This October, JETs from across the prefecture geared up to take this challenge head on!

With steep climbs, breathtaking views, and the famous (or infamous) chains between them and the summit, it was an all or nothing push for the top. Despite the difficulty, the heavenly views of clouds flowing through the tallest peaks like a river, and the unbeatable comradery between each group was more than enough motivation to see it through to the end.

As Seven (a first year ALT from Nanyo B) said, “It would have been easy to give up, but we encouraged each other and kept climbing. Our perseverance was rewarded with ethereal clouds swirling into a sea between mountain peaks, shaking legs, and an unmatched sense of accomplishment.”

Mt. Ishizuchi may be a bit hidden, but discovering its unique “introverted” personality and rugged beauty via a heart pounding climb with great new friends is a memory this year’s group of climbers won’t soon forget!

Quotes from the Climbers

The hike itself was difficult, but the view from the summit was amazing.

Matthew McClure

1st year JET, Seiyo

The hike was a lot of fun! It was more difficult than I thought, but I enjoyed the challenge!

Yinka Saba

1st year JET, Imabari

Plenty of little groups of difference paces formed naturally. Had so much fun! Different routes of different difficulties make it a great place for a trip.

Will Taylor

1st year JET, Seiyo

I think mountains have personality. What makes me say this is that, when we reached the top it was foggy and there was no view of the mountain. After about ten minutes into our rest, Mt Ishizuchi cleared up for about five minutes and then the fog covered it again. I think that Ishizuchi-san is an introvert. The mountain got out of its shell for five minutes and then crawled back in. That was nonetheless a beautiful experience― seeing the mountain somewhat interact with us and acknowledge us.

Nontsikelelo

Tokushima

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While the previous events of the fall season all focused on achieving new heights and doing your best, the tabletop rpg (role playing game) event that took place on November 3rd really lit the candle on the spooky season with a game that embraces the unpredictable zaniness of losing.

Unlike other ttrpgs Ten Candles has no way of “winning” per say as every game ultimately ends with each character meeting an unfortunate end once the candles (which represent story chapters) go out. However, the increasingly perilous situations and manic decision-making forces players to find hope in a world that has gone dark.

In this enticingly gloomy setting three groups of our best storytellers set out for wildly different story paths that featured the likes of evil fox spirits, Crystal the gambling therapist, and even LeBron James. With this cast of characters, they proceeded to uncover government experiments, kill Bigfoot, and managed to marry Debbie from accounting (who ultimately turned into a Yeti). It’s this kind of completely unhinged adventure in which unexpected twists are the name of the game that makes it so much fun to dive into time and time again.

Freya (an ALT from Ozu and the AJET sports coordinator) said of the event, “Our story went off the rails pretty quickly because we burnt through candles early on, giving us a whole slew of plot hooks to mess with. It was only at the end when we replayed the voice recording that we realized just how far we’d gone.”

Ten Candles may not be for everyone, but for those willing to go down the rabbit hole of madness that this game creates, it can be the perfect way to enjoy the spookier side of the season with friends all under the dim glow of candlelight.