Japanese Cultural and Study Visit
Monday 3 November 2014
The Japan Trip over the October half term was an enormous success. The girls were undeniably tired at the onset, with little sleep on a 12 hour flight from Amsterdam to Tokyo before arriving at 9am Japan time (8 hours ahead). We faced a full day of sightseeing, but our minds and bodies really thought it was midnight!
Although our first day was hindered by jet lag, the girls soon felt like they were in Japan once we ventured out on the second day to the beautiful Hama-rikyu gardens set against the formidable skyline of Tokyo and Rainbow Bridge, where we enjoyed a traditional tea ceremony. After visiting various temples and shrines, the girls enjoyed a shopping opportunity along Takeshita-dori in the vibrant Harajuku district. Later that evening, after dinner, we were met by the neon lights of Shibuya and its infamous pedestrian crossing stretching across the enormous intersection.
We then headed towards Hakone National Park to observe the tectonic activity on the flanks of Mt Souzan in the Owakudani valley, where some of the girls enjoyed onsen-tamago, or black eggs cooked in the sulphur rich hot waters. Mt Fuji did not make an appearance on this day, as it was a little cloudy, but we did manage to see her from the window of the aeroplane, which was an unexpected pleasure.
After a night’s rest in a traditional inn, where we slept on futons on tatami mats and enjoyed a typical sharing dinner called “nabe” (meat and vegetables cooked in a stock on a burner on the table in a large casserole dish), we travelled over 300km west on the bullet train towards Kyoto, to enjoy the traditional rock gardens and the beautiful Golden Pavilion.
After another day of sightseeing in the quiet town of Arashiyama in the north-west quarter of Kyoto, the setting of an awesome bamboo grove and gardens in Tenryuji temple, we made preparations that evening to travel to our link school in Kobe. After a morning of buying souvenirs at the massive Kyoto station complex, we boarded a local train to Kobe, where we were met by our link school hosts.
The girls very nervously met their Homestay partners and travelled to each of their Homestay families’ houses. After a night with their host family, the girls returned to school the next day, where they enjoyed a variety of cultural activities, including kimono wearing and origami crafts. We also engaged in a multi-cultural exchange with the Konan students to share ideas and interests, where the Konan girls practised their spoken English and our students their Japanese.
The girls also attended school on Saturday morning, where we took part in a calligraphy class and designed our own emblem on a Japanese fan. Finally, the girls enjoyed an afternoon with their Homestay families before returning to the school seminar house, where we attended a “sayonara party”. The girls gave a little speech and delivered their thanks to each of their host families, at which point they also presented their Haiku poems, both in English and Japanese, to express their gratitude to their host families and heightened understanding of Japanese culture.