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A delegation of 12 students and 10 adults undertook a two week educational and cultural trip to Japan over the Easter holidays.  The whole trip was amazing with a wide variety of undertakings and experiences which covered the broad timeline of ancient history through to the modern technology that Japan has to offer.  We stayed in downtown Tokyo, with its busy neon lights and crushing crowds, through to the tranquil rural setting of the Eco-institute at Shirakawa-Go where we experienced the snow in the Japanese Alps and traditional Japanese outdoor cooking called Nabe, or ‘one pot cooking'.

We experienced ancient religious culture with visits to Zen and Buddhist temples, and the modern museum experience of “Team Lab” with interactive visual projections and mirrored rooms.

The group picked two highlights from the tour.  The first was our visit to the Tamagawa Academy where we observed the Year 2 classrooms, saw an English lesson being taught and marveled at the size and facilities of the school.  The second highlight was experiencing the snow with our guides from the Shirakawa-Go Eco institute and doing some tobogganing on plastic sheets of paper.

We were on the go a lot during our two week trip which was tiring at times, but it gave us so many opportunities to experience the culture and diversity of Japan.  Each of the cities we visited (Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka) had unique personalities with different food, fashion and culture. 

With most of us going to Japan with limited knowledge on language and food, we enjoyed saying “Thank you” to our lovely hosts, and “excuse me” when negotiating the busy crowds and a few more Japanese words were added to our vocabulary.  We tried some interesting food, such as rice balls from the 7/11, Pocky, fish eggs, raw white fish, seafood sushi, okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes), bento boxes and takoyaki (little morsels of octopus), but none of us could bring ourselves to try sea urchin or the poisonous puffer fish.

At the Tamagawa Academy there were many lovely reconnections with students who we have hosted this year and in past years.  Some students joined us at Machida city shopping centre to catch up with previous Tenison Woods College hosts and friends. 

We were very lucky to have a tour through a Zen Temple in Tokyo by the father of one of the students who visited Australia – and we participated in a Zen relaxation meditation.  Afterwards we had traditional green tea and Japanese sweets.

As always we were very appreciative of the support and guidance provided by our hosts from Calvary English School, Yoko, Maya and Sarah Inoue. We look forward to celebrating 19 years of the relationship between the Schools next year.

Annie Clifford, Sharon Brodie and Trent Eitzen |Tour Leaders