After visiting our sister schools, the students were very happy to be reunited at the hotel we stayed at, in the suburb of Shinagawa. Students exchanged stories of their school and homestay experiences. While in Tokyo students visited a sumo stable where they watched a training session and some of the boys joined in to have a go at beating the sumo wrestlers. They also visited the tallest building in Japan, Tokyo Sky Tree to view Tokyo from above and then cruised around Tokyo Harbour and Sumida River on a boat, feasting on a Japanese bento lunch. Students happily shopped at the famous suburb of Harajuku and snapped selfies as they walked across the famous Shibuya crossing. A day spent at Tokyo Disneyland was a highlight for many and a morning spent at Asakusa Kannon Temple, Nakamise shopping street and Akihabara, known as ‘Electric Town’, finished off the Japanese trip.
Riley Hogan is one of our Year 10 Japanese Elective students who participated in the April school holiday Japan Trip. He was asked to reflect on his experience in Japan overall. This is what he said:
"My personal highlight in Kyoto was definitely going to Kiyomizudera temple which is on the side of a mountain overlooking all of Kyoto. This was an amazing experience especially with all the cherry blossoms that were at the temple. One of my biggest challenges that I faced while in Kyoto was the food because I am a very picky eater but the food in Japan and in Kyoto in particular was amazing. My friends and I had a particular restaurant called Machiya that we went to a few times. The biggest thing that I learnt in Japan was to try new things, from facing my fear of heights and going to one of the tallest buildings in the world or to trying a new food that I previously thought I didn’t like. Another thing I learnt is to interact with new people that you don’t think you would ever talk too as I’ve built some amazing friendships."
Mrs Fiona Byrne
Languages Coordinator
