Japan Trip September 2008

Japan Trip

In September 2008, 19 students together with Ms Thomson, Mrs France and Mrs Redmond went to Japan on a trip of a lifetime.  Initially they were hosted by families at Kumagaya Nishi High School.  During this time they were given lots of wonderful opportunities.  They visited a local kindergarten, went on a city tour of Kumagaya and a day trip to Nikkoo and Tobu World Square.  At school they were given special lessons in cooking, book binding, origami, kendo, art, music, tea ceremony, flower arranging and calligraphy.  10 days later, there were lots of tears as everyone left their new friends and family behind and boarded the bus for their stay in Tokyo.  The last 3 days were spent sightseeing, shopping and at Disneyland.  Everyone has come home with wonderful memories and a better understanding of the Japanese culture and language.

Kumagaya Nishi High School

It was very hard to leave everyone at Kumagaya Nishi School. I wanted to stay.  Hannah Gerken

The buddy classes we took part in were interesting and so were the group classes that we had, such as flower arranging and calligraphy. In calligraphy we were not allowed to talk and you had to keep your brush straight up and down. At the start and end of every class that we had we stood up and bowed to the teacher. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.  Cameron Hooson

Kumagaga Nishi was a very neat school. Every day for me began with a 6.00am rise followed by a huge breakfast, a bike ride to the train station, a train ride into Kumagaya and then a walk to school. I quite enjoyed the bike ride to and from school, even though I am never found on a bike in Invercargill.          Kathryn Butler

When students walk past they wave and smile. They are very friendly.  Rebekah Robertson

Kumagaya City Tour / Mayoral Visit

The City Hall is a lot taller than Invercargill's City Hall. It was a very formal occasion visiting the Mayor. He spoke reading his speech from a piece of paper and then another member read out the translation. After all the formalities and speeches and gift giving, the Mayor fell into casual conversation with us asking how our trip had gone thus far.  Channelle Carnie

The garden at Seikein (the place the tea ceremony was held at) was very beautiful.  Channelle Carnie

My Host Family

I loved my host family! I really, really enjoyed staying with them! I couldn't have had a better host family. Right from the first day they made me feel welcome and at home. They went out of their way to keep me happy. I really got the most out of Japan while staying with them. I visited many places with them and tried such different things. My host sister/buddy was like a real sister to me. She was so nice to me and really accepted me into her way of living. My host mother couldn't speak much English. Well, none in fact, but we were able to communicate and I became really close to her. The older sister was really helpful because she knew heaps of English. I'm so grateful to all the family for everything. I'm never going to forget them and what they did for me! I hope to see them again. The trip just wouldn't be the same for me without them.  Aria Stridiron-Leiva

Over time, I felt as if my host family were my real family and it was very difficult for me to have to say goodbye on the last morning. I had to get used to not having my host mother cook for me, make my lunch and do washing for me. Even now, I miss my host family very much and I would love to visit them again!!  Hayley Ayto

Kindergarten Visit

Going to the kindergarten was extremely fun! On our arrival all the kindergarten kids got really excited.  They were so cute! Going there was one of the best experiences we had in Japan. They were very, very good at the drums! Better than us anyway. Let us meet again!  William Gin

Nikoo

Nikkoo was amazing. The temples and shrines were so pretty. The design of them was amazing. There was so much detail put into them. We got to see the horse that was donated by New Zealand, that is protected by monkeys (the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys).  Kimberley Murcott

We went to a temple in Nikkoo which was on a hill covered in bush. When we arrived at Nikkoo everyone shot off the bus and started taking photos. We walked up into the temple. It was so amazing! There were giant gold statues everywhere, carvings on the wall and thousands of people. In a lot of places we were not allowed to take any photos and in other places we were not allowed to wear shoes.   Cameron Hooson

After seeing the shrines, we went to Tobu World Square, a more modern tourist attraction that features famous landmarks from all over the world scaled down to 1/25^th of their original size. We found it a bit odd to spot the Twin Towers in America, but otherwise we found the place fascinating. There were lots of scale models arranged in different parts of the world.  We needed more time to see them all properly.  Hayley Ayto

Our visit to Nikkoo would have to be the highlight of the trip so far.  Kathryn Butler

Sightseeing in Tokyo

Tokyo is my favourite city. I love everything about it. The tall buildings, people, colours, lights . . . just EVERYTHING! My favourite part of Tokyo was Harajuku. It's so unique. You can't compare it to anywhere in New Zealand. Here I did a lot of shopping. We also went to Shinjuku, Akihabara, Odaiba, Shibuya and Asakusa. In Shibuya we saw Hachiko. Shibuya had lots of people too, especially at the crossings where everyone crosses at once. Where we stayed in Asakusa, we were near a lot of small souvenir shops where I did most of my shopping. In Shinjuku, we could see how big Tokyo really was from standing on the 43^rd floor of the Tokyo Metropolis Government Buildings. The city went for miles. This also proved correct when we took trains and subways to get from one point of Tokyo to another. Tokyo definitely is my favourite city.  Hannah Gerken

The 8 storey book store was fun - Kinokuniya book store.  Jonathan Rowe

Tokyo Disneyland

The Disney feeling flowed through our veins. The screams of excitement and thrill filled the air. The heat of the sun was shining onto our bare skin. The smell of caramel corn floated around our noses. The detailed colour fed our hungry eyes. We were finally there. Disneyland. World famous wonderland. We split off and began our adventures quicker than lightening. They sure were some exciting adventures we had! Our stomachs dropped on Splash Mountain, our lungs screamed on Thunder Mountain, our hearts pumped adrenaline on Space Mountain and our smiles widened after every one of them. Fourteen full hours of pure bliss. We were exhausted, but fulfilled. And we were happy. Disneyland not only lived up to its reputation but much, much more.  Sarah Shuttleworth