Eight students and two teachers are travelling to Japan for 18 days (4 December to 22 December). Students will travel to Kagoshima in the south of Japan for a nine night homestay at Immaculate Heart College. Our school has had a relationship with IHC for over 25 years and every two years a group of students visits Kagoshima. After Kagoshima we will travel to Hiroshima and Kyoto, both of these cities have rich historical and cultural significance. Overall, the trip is a wonderful immersion experience as it gives students an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of Japan, enhance their Japanese language skills and experience the culture and sights of the Japan.
20 December
Today, we travelled to Nara and visited Tōdai-ji, a Buddhist temple where we saw Daibutsu (Big Buddha). The Daibutsu’s height spans at around 14.98, making it an amazing scene. We were able to take photos, make wishes and pray in front do the Daibutsu. Afterwards, some of the students were able to successfully cross the ‘nose of Buddha’, which is a hole in a supporting post in Todai-ji. According to legends, those who pass the ‘nose of Buddha’ will be blessed with eternal happiness in the after life. Then, we were able to have time to shop around the small shops selling omikuji and souvenirs. Outside the Tōdai-ji is a long walk way, consisting of various shops. It is also a place where many deers walk around, hence were able to feed the deers with 鹿せんべい(deer food). Afterwards, we walked around a shopping district in Nara, where we ate a Japanese meal for lunch and shopped for more souvenirs. Then, we returned to Kyoto and walked around Kyoto Station, where we were able to shop in The Cube, which is a shopping section for teen agers.
After a long day, we were able to return to our hotel and prepare for our final gathering and Christmas party. We wore the shirts we made yesterday and also wore Santa hats and reindeer ears. We initially exchanged presents secretively, where the person receiving wouldn’t know who the present was from. Then afterwards, everyone will guess who their present was from. Then, we were all able to enjoy a delicious Christmas cake and chocolate desserts. After the celebration, we had our final meeting where we discussed about our thoughts on the trip and what we expected and didn’t expect. Hearing everyone’s positive opinions and thoughts on the trip, made the final night worthwhile. This trip is truly an amazing experience, which we will certainly treasure forever.
18 December
Today on the 18th of December, we were in for a big surprise. As we woke up early and getting ready to go for breakfast, I had checked outside to see if there was any snow since there was a report on it. And there was snow everywhere! It had fallen heavily during the night and coated everything. It was simply beautiful, and very cold too. We had to walk through the snow, but luckily it wasn’t on the pathway, though it was a little slippery. We came to a place called Nishinjin, where weaving is done. We weaved small placemats for ourselves. I personally enjoyed that a lot since it was a good break from seeing a lot of temples and shrines. After that we spent 15 minutes watching a Kimono fashion show, it was really pretty.
After that, we discussed about changing the visit to Osaka to Friday and go to Kinkakuji Temple instead since it was a rare moment to see the golden temple covered in snow. We arrived after a full bus ride and was simply taken a back of how beautiful the temple looked. The whole area was covered in snow, and it was snowing heavily too. It was truly amazing, even if it was cold, it was all worth it to visit the temple. I really loved this part, since it was fun and exciting to see. I love how the temple still stood out so grand against the whiteness of the snow. The gold colour of the temple was still quite bright and ‘in your face’ type of way. After the visit we went back to the centre of Kyoto to have lunch, we had Tonkatsu. It was pretty good, I liked the food. We then got 2 hours of shopping in the area. We returned back to Kyoto Station and bought Obento for dinner, it was very delicious!
17 December
Today we woke up in Hiroshima, ate breakfast at the Japanese or Western buffet before packing our bags and heading on the Shinkansen to Fukuyama. This journey was not too long and it was enjoyable to watch the scenery go by. Once arriving in Fukuyama we caught to maxi taxis to Hiroshima university high school. Upon arrival we were greeted by enthusiastic year ten students who then took us to a cooking room. Here we cooked Japanese egg roll, Japanese risotto and dashi with the students in groups of four or five. This experience was thoroughly enjoyable as we got to talk with Japanese students, make new friends and cook foods we would not normally make. Further, I found the understanding of Japanese food and how it is made extremely interesting and different.
After this, we ate our meals and then followed the students to the hall where the SRC of the school showed us a PowerPoint presentation about their school. Learning about the different customs and festivals at this school was very enjoyable and I was interested to hear about the different festivals in particular, as well as clubs activities particular to Japan. After hearing this speech rhea and I were called to present our schools PowerPoint, which went well. We then listened to some more speeches and then had to sadly leave the school. Saying goodbye to the people we had met that day was sad but we were very happy with the experiences we had.
We then took a Shinkansen and a local train to Kyoto where we arrived at our inn. Staying in tatami rooms looks to be a good experience of Japanese customs and culture and I am very excited. After dropping off our bags we walked back to the station and separated to have dinner, before meeting back to walk throughout the Kyoto station which is very large and has amazing light displays at Christmas. After spending about an hour looking at the lights and walking around we returned to our inn for the evening. Overall it was a very enjoyable day and we learnt a lot about Japanese life and customs.
15 December
14 December
Today, with much sadness and a few tears, we farewelled out beloved host families that we had already been with for a week. I know we all felt that the week had gone too quickly. But with new feelings of excitement with embarked on our new journey to Hiroshima by Bullet train. Once in Hiroshima, we had dropped our bulky luggage off at the hotel and had a quickly lunch at a near McDonalds. There, we learnt that people in Japan finish all their food at the restaurant rather than bringing it out and eating while walking around. We all found that fact very interesting. After lunch, we took a tram ride to the Hiroshima Peace Park, where we saw the A-Bomb Dome and Children’s Peace Memorial, and then visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. In this park, we commemorated the victims of the tragic atom bomb and through the various stories of survivors, reinforced our knowledge of the importance of world peace.
After that, we were allowed to roam Hondori, a major shopping district. This is where we really felt the difference between country Kagoshima and urban Hiroshima, as there was many more people present in the streets. We felt this was a really eye-opening contrast. For dinner, we had okonomiyaki with noodles, a speciality of Hiroshima. We all enjoyed the meal and thought it was super delicious. Soon after, we made our way to a near by karaoke bar, where had lots of fun and sang to our hearts out. Afterwards, we returned to out hotel and after a quickly meeting about the days events, we hurried to our hotel room to prepare for bed. In this process, we learnt that we should have a person in charge of the hotel key, in order not to be locked out of our room.
Rhea Cue
13 December
Today I woke up at 10:30, later than usual because it was the weekend. Both my host sister and I were tired as we went out for dinner last night and didn’t get home till late. The first thing i had to do today was pack my suitcase to send to Kyoto. My host sister and I spent at least an hour getting everything to fit and ready to send. When we finished packing we went down stairs to drink tea and eat some cake for a morning snack. During this time we also exchanged presents, my host family were very excited to receive presents from Australia and I loved the presents that they gave me also to remember my time with them in Japan. At about 12 o clock we left to go send my suitcase off at 7 Eleven, I was very surprised that in japan all convenience stores have a courier service. Afterwards my host family and I went to eat lunch at a BBQ meat restaurant. The food was delicious and we talked about many things that we did while I was with them over the last few days. We were all sad that this was the last day we would spend together. After we had finished lunch we all went shopping at a large shopping centre in the area. It was interesting to see what different types of shops they had in this shopping centre compared to Australia and I ended up buying a lot of presents and souvenirs. We also went to a large stationary shop where i was able to buy some art supplies and stationary for next year. I was very surprised at how cheap everything was compared to Australia. When we finally got home it was quite late and my host mother started dinner straight away, we ate a dish called Nabe which is like a large hot pot in the middle of the table filled with a variety of ingredients, this dish is typically eaten in Japan during winter. After dinner I had a relaxing bath and went to bed early ready to wake up tomorrow to head to the station.
Thank you
Heather Copland
12 December
Today, we had free time in the morning. We went to Temonkan again to do last minute shopping. We walked around various shops such as Takapla. Takapla consists of a range of clothing for teenagers, hence making the shopping experience worthwhile. Afterwards, we bought Shirakuma (shaved ice) from Kagoshima’s best Shirakuma store. However, since we only had limited amount of time, we had it taken out and walked around Temonkan while eating. Afterwards, we returned to school and enjoyed our obentos with our host sisters. Then we joined in cleaning time where we farewelled some of our friends and seniors. Then we participated in a Japanese calligraphy class, where we learnt how to write various kanjis using brush and ink. We were able to decorate our work afterwards with watercolours. It was difficult and challenging yet a beautiful experience over all. After the calligraphy class, all the Australian students joined together for an awards ceremony, where each students were given certificates for their hard work and achievements. After the awards ceremony, we joined a Japanese grammar class, where we played various Japanese games such as fruits basket. (Fruits basket is a popular Japanese game where each person is given a fruit name and when their fruit is called out, they will move from their seats to another seat. The person who fails to get a seat will have to call out another fruit or call out ‘fruits basket’ where everyone will have to move). After playing Japanese games, we had a small afternoon tea with the Japanese students and had a small chat. After the Japanese grammar class, we had free time and had time to say our goodbyes to our Junshin friends. After school, we had a dinner with our host sisters and seniors in a Soba restaurant. The Soba noodles were delicious and it is one of the most delicious food we’ve eaten in Japan.
11 December
We started the day, once again, with an early rise at 6:30am. Once we were ready for school and had eaten our delicious breakfast made up of miso soup and a toasted sandwich, my host sister, Shiina and I headed off to school at Immaculate Heart college. When arriving at school we were greeted with smiles by many of the colleges teachers and students.
To begin the day we split into two groups which then headed off with the 2nd year English students of the college to learn about either Japanese Festivals or Japanese Sub Culture. I chose to learn about Japanese Sub Culture and from this learnt all about Japan’s fashion, anime and stationary. Throughout the class we were all very intrigued in the many different styles Japan has to offer and how in many ways Japan is both similar and different to the sub culture we have in Australia.
After finishing our Japanese sub culture class and asking many questions about where to buy the best clothes in Kagoshima, we headed off to another class to learn about Japanese language. Throughout this class, us students of Santa Sabina College where able to learn many different Japanese sentence forms, such as “What are you going to do on the weekend” through a variety of different activities and games that helped us to remember these. Through this class not only were we able to learn how to say more things in Japanese, but the Japanese students themselves were able to develop skills in teaching and also develop their English at the same time.
Once finishing all our morning classes we headed off to the colleges’ dormitory and had lunch. This was a great experience as we were able to talk with many different girls of the college whilst enjoying delicious foods and learning more about their school, Kagoshima and furthermore Japan.
After lunch, we were taught a various array of Japanese children games and learnt how to make origami Santa Clauses. From this, not only did we have fun playing the games and activities set out for us, but we were also able to learn a great deal about Japanese life and culture. The Japanese students learning to be child care teachers who taught us were able to learn from this experience as well, as they were able to improve their English and also practice their teaching skills.
At the end of day, we all headed off to different class rooms and were involved with the Japanese students in many various Japanese games. After having a lot of fun being involved in these games we enjoyed a variety of foods and drinks and danced to popular Japanese music. After an exciting day at school, my host sister and I headed home and had a delicious dinner of sushi and finally fell asleep.
Sadly, today was the third last day with our host families, and as we slowly near the end of our home stay and time in Kagoshima at immaculate heart college we begin to realise how much we have learnt from our host sisters and their families and how much we are going to miss them when we go.
Chelsea Trainor
10 December
On the 10th of December, in the first period we watched a popular show in Kagoshima. It was based on characters that represent different products that are famous in Kagoshima. The main hero of the show was called Satsuma Kenshin Hayato, he was a samurai with a blade-less sword. Whenever the evil lord, Yassenbo would appear and attack the people of Kagoshima, Satsuma Kenshi Hayato would appear and fight the ninja foxes, but without hurting them. It was an interesting yet funny show. I enjoyed it and it gave you a good insight of the famous items that are made and grown in Kagoshima.
In the second period a few girls from the school gave presentations to us about Kagoshima. It was about different hot springs that are situated around Kagoshima. We also leaned the difference between sand and the ash that comes from Sakurajima, the active volcano in Kagoshima. The sand here is really rocky and grainy, yet the ash was very fine and soft. We also had a taste of some popular sweets; sweet potatoes in the shape of chips, some jelly lolly and a cake. I like the sweet potato chips and the jelly, both were nice and sweet. We had a taste of the citrus tea, it was nice but wasn’t my favourite since it was bitter for me.
After the presentations, we went to Tenmonkan to do some shopping. But before that we went to the museum to see the old remains of a castle that used to stand there. We also saw the old samurai armour, and one of us was given the opportunity to try it on. We then traveled back to Tenmonkan to do some shopping. We also had shaved ice! It was really nice and I just finished it, even if it was a small amount, it was still quite big. I loved the shaved ice, it was really good and tasty. I enjoyed the day, even though I was really tired after I came back home. It gave me more insight into Kagoshima and what is different about this city compared to other cities in Japan.
Today was our first day at school, and the big hill drained all of my energy in the morning. At school, all the students were really nice as they always greet us which feels very welcoming. After the orientation we learnt tea ceremony. Tea ceremony is a tradition in Japan and we learnt to be very respectful when we are in the tatami room making the tea. I think Japanese tea ceremony is very interesting as the process is very neat and peaceful. We ate Japanese sweet first then we drank the green tea. The sweet dessert balances really well with the bitter green tea. I really enjoyed doing tea ceremony and I really like the structure of the tatami room. After the tea ceremony, we had lunch and my obento was truly amazing I really have to thank my host mother. She is always really nice to me and she always prepares very good food for me. I had a really full lunch. After lunch we did a treasure hunt around the school, the competition was very fun and all of us got really excited and competitive. We ran around the school trying to find all the hints and it was a really successful team work. Fortunately our school won first place and we got Japanese chocolate as a prize. Then the Immaculate heart college students led us to a school tour and we got more familiar with the college and I found the video room in the library really convenient. After the school tour we tried on Kimono, which I think is the most interesting event of the day. The college students helped us to put on kimono, the colours were really pretty and we took lots and lots of photos. I realised when Japanese people wear kimono they look very formal and upright. I really think that the kimono is the highlight of the day. Today was a very busy schedule but it was a fantastic experience.
9 December
8 December
Today was the first day that we got the chance to see Immaculate Heart College. After waking up very early, Sayano, my host sister and I caught a bus and then a tram to the bottom of the school. We then had to walk up an extremely steep hill! It was really tiring but once we got to the top we went to relax in the english lounge. It was very good to see the teachers and our fellow students again, and to hear about what everyone did over the weekend.
Following this, we walked even further up the hill on stairs to get to the bus, which we then took to chiran (samurai houses). These are traditional Japanese houses with beautiful gardens that we then got to walk around in groups for approximately an hour. It was really interesting to look at Japanese architecture and explore the gardens. Next, we returned to the bus and we went to Kamafuta jinja, a temple in which you can attempt to walk with a lid on your head into the shrine. If you drop the lid, you do not get your wish granted but if you make it to the entrance, you are granted a wish. I did not manage to carry the lid all the way, but many others did! After taking some photos in the shrine we walked around the back pathway to get a better view of Kaimondake, a conical mountain in Ibusuki. Walking along the shore here allowed for some fantastic photographs of the mountain. By this time everyone was very hungry, so we went to go get soumen on the bus. Soumen is a kind of noodle served in a round bowl that spins continuously. It was quite hard to get the noodles out of the bowl, but it was fun and the noodles were delicious.
Finally, we went to another park lookout and then a lake called Ikedako. At Ikedako many people bought souvenirs and ice cream even though it is very cold in Kagoshima. It was overall a very fun bus trip and a great excursion. After returning to the station I was very excited to tell my host sister all about it, as were everyone else. Tomorrow we will go back and have our first full day at school, which is very exciting!
Daniela balancing Kamafuta on her head Soumen noodles for lunch!
7 December
The day started early, 6:30am. The part of Japan I am in, Kagoshima Sendai is very cold. In order to drive in the car, we had to pour hot water on the car glass as it was frozen. In this cold weather, hot green tea became one of my close friends.
After a short drive, my host mum, older brother, and little sister took a taxi to a coach shelter, beginning our journey to sega. During the coach ride, yummy snacks were provided including a mickey mouse lollipop and a variety of biscuits.
We arrived to the house expo (sekisui at 12:00. For lunch, we had an obento lunch box. Despite not knowing what any of the food was, it was delicious.
There were many things to offer on the sekisui tour such as: *a comparison between sekisui products (tiles, bricks, etc) and other brands, the tests proved that sekisui is very effective. *a machine that shows you what its like to be in a typhoon and earthquake. The machine also showed what a typhoon does to a traditional Japanese roof, a 1/3 of the tiles flew off and broke. *how block houses are made. During the tour, i learned about how convenient block houses are, you can move your house to an entire different location *a room where we could browse furniture such as doors, kitchens, and living rooms
My host family were hoping to win the raffle, the prize being a house. Unfortunately, my host family did not win the raffle.
We left the tour at 5:00pm, arriving home at 9:30pm however, we had a few 10 minute breaks along the way. We were served an obento for dinner and on the trip we watched ponyo on the T.V.
As soon as we got home, we had snacks and i had a bath. Shortly after that, i went to sleep in my futon.
It has been an amazing trip so far, my host family have made me feel very welcome. I am very much so looking forward to the days to come.
Sam
Dec 6:
After our journey on the bullet train from Fukuoka to Kagoshima, we were allowed to go around Kagoshima Chuo station as we waited for our host sisters to come pick us up. We were all filled with excitement and nervousness, but the anxious feelings soon faded away when we were greeted with smiles as one by one our host sisters came.
On the first day with the host family, a breakfast of cereal and juice was served and then it was time to get ready for a big day. After leaving the house, my host family took me to see the Takazato gardens and tea house. It was truly a place full of serenity and peace and was the perfect start to the day.
Soon after, we then travelled to Shiroyama, a place filled with the history of the revolution of Japan. From here, a beautiful view of the city could be seen and many people, including ourselves,took photos of the view.
On the way to the next stop, we ate at a place called “Kiriharake”, a small sweets shop that sold Janbo Mochi. On the beach behind the shop, a small groups of young boys and their teacher were practicing traditional samurai practice with wooden sticks. I was lucky enough to have a go at sword practice as that host mother and sister asked if we could have try. It was a totally exhilarating experience.
After that, we had a lunch of ramen and made our way to the Kagoshima Aquarium. During the time there, we saw many interesting fish and animals, one in particular being the largest fresh water fish in the world.
Afterwords, we spent our time shopping in the shopping centre and in the city. While there, we went around and looked at the beautiful illuminations that had lite up the city and then had sushi train for dinner. The sushi tasted very fresh and was delicious.
Finally, we ended the day with a bath in the Ofuro and family time, where we chatted about life in Japan and Australia while we ate ice-cream. Overall, it was a very eventful and fun day.
4 & 5 December
After a full day of traveling we finally got to our hotel at 11:30pm, we were all exhausted and quickly went up to our rooms to get ready to sleep. We planned to meet in the hotel lobby at 8:30am for breakfast the next day.
For breakfast we walked across the road to a Japanese and Western buffet. At the buffet we had to take our shoes off when we went into our room to eat. The food was very good and we all ate a mix of Western and Japanese food for our breakfast.
After breakfast we all went back to our hotel rooms to pack our suitcases and get really to go to Dazaifu shrine. To get to the shrine we had to take the subway, while we were getting on the subway we were surprised how organised it was, to get in you had to line up to the side and wait for the passengers to first leave the train then you were allowed to walk in. No one was pushing and shoving to get on the subway. During the ride we noticed also how quite everyone in the subway was. There was no one having a loud conversation or talking on the phone. Thats when the teachers told us that in Japan its polite to not answer your phone on the train at all.
We finally got to Dazaifu Shrine at 10:30am and were very exited to see it. As a class we looked around the complex while the teachers answered any questions we had. Everyone took lots of photos. The shrine was very beautiful and different to anything we have seen before. Once we had looked through the entire shine we had about 30mins of free time to buy some souvenirs and look around at the shops. At shrines they sell a variety of charms to grant luck in different things. Dazaifu shrine is known for its academic and wisdom charms.
We meet up again as a class and decided to head to Tenjin for lunch. Tenjin is the main shopping area in Fukuoka. We ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant and afterwards we went to Mitsukoshi department store to do some shopping and look around. In the department store and on the subway we also noticed how aware Japanese people were of their surroundings. Japanese people always make sure they are not stopping in anyone’s way and for example always stand to the left when on escalators.
When we were ready to head back to the hotel the teachers let us lead the way back to the subway station. We then went to the hotel to collect our luggage.
After collecting our luggage we headed over to the Shinkansen (bullet train) station. From here we are going to take the shinkansen to Kagoshima to meet our host families.
Heather Copland
Dazaifu Dazaifu shrine
Fukuoka night lights
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Fukuoka night lights
