Japan Trip, July Holidays 2018

Japan Trip - 7th to 24th, July 2018


Tuesday 10th July
In the morning on Saturday the 7th, we flew out of Christchurch Airport. We flew for approximately 6 hours, and then arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore. We spent 6 hours exploring there, it was huge! We then got on another plane for around 10 hours. We finally arrived at Narita Airport in Tokyo on Sunday morning. We then got on a bullet train to Sendai, which is where we spent the majority of our time in Japan. Our host families then picked us up from Sendai Station. My host family included a mother, father, grandmother, two sons, and a daughter. The daughter was named Miyabi, and was my buddy. After I was picked up, we went to a sushi restaurant, where I tried tuna for the first time. Surprisingly it wasn't too bad. I had an early night as I was tired from all the travelling. On Monday the 8th, we were shown around the school (Tokiwagi Gakuen High School). It was very big, and instead of bells chiming to indicate the end of a lesson, they used classical music. The students and teachers there were very friendly. We then attended a Japanese lesson where we introduced ourselves in Japanese, and interacted with other students. After spending the morning at school, we then went out on a bus. We spent time at Sendai Castle (which actually was just the site of castle that is no longer there), and Osaki Shrine. The shrine was very beautiful and traditional. We tossed 5 yen coins into a container and tugged a bell, calling gods to watch over us.

Achievements:

• An interesting cultural difference I found was that people in Japan take their shoes off outside the house, and put on clean slippers when entering the house. When using the bathroom, they take off their house slippers and put on bathroom slippers. These cannot be worn outside the bathroom.
• When I was leaving the car in the morning after traveling to the train station, my host mother said "いｔらっしゃい!" I replied with "いってきます!" which means 'see you later', and is a common phrase in Japan.
• An interesting fact about Osaki Shrine is that it was designated a National Treasure of Japan, which means it is one of Japans most precious cultural properties.
• I have began using ええと... instead of umm... when speaking to my host family.

Friday 13th July
On Tuesday the 10th, we had a history lesson on Tsurugajo Castle which we would then visit in a few days. The story behind the castle was very interesting, but very sad. We then attended a cooking class, where we cooked traditional Japanese food with some students. We made noodles, dumplings, and savory jelly. It was delicious! We spent some time as a group practicing the songs we were going to sing on our last day at the school. For the last class of the day, we did P.E with some students. We played volleyball in groups with some younger students. They were all very nice, and good at volleyball. After school, some students threw us a welcome party. We made takoyaki balls with octopus or sausage in them. I didn't really like the octopus, but the party was nice. On Wednesday the 11th, we went on a bus to Matsushima Island. We then got on a ferry, and sailed around the islands. It was very nice there. On Thursday the 12th, we went to Tsurugajo Castle. It was beautiful! We also went to a Samurai Mansion, which had lots of history behind the life of a samurai.

Achievements:

• When buying some gifts at a gift shop at the Samurai Mansion, I paid in exact change. I used 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, and 1 yen coins.
• When eating at a hamburger restaurant, I ordered a chicken meal, rice, and drink in Japanese.

Tuesday 24th July
On Friday the 13th, we went to a huge Buddha statue called Sendai Daikannon. It had many many stairs. We then went to Yagiyama Zoo. A highlight was watching the polar bear get fed. He was very cool. On Saturday the 14th, my buddies friends came over, and we played karaoke and card games. They stayed the night. On Sunday the 15th, we went to the Fox Village. The foxes were very cute. We also went to a cheese factory, where we tried a delicious milk drink. On Monday the 14th, my host family took me to an amusement park. It was extremely hot, and we went on very fast roller coasters. On Tuesday the 17th, we went to Kamaboko Factory. We learned about the history of kamaboko and the processes it goes through to get made. We then made some. I didn't really like it as it was made of mushed together fish. We then went to a class with our buddy. The class I went to was health. We watched a documentary about animal testing. On Wednesday the 18th, we went to a temple in the mountains. We had to walk up 1008 stairs, and it was very hot. The temple was very nice though. On Thursday the 19th, we went to Shogisan Temple. The temple was gorgeous, as was the small castle there. Later that afternoon, we watched the schools inter-class choir competition. One group sang an english song and it was very good. On Friday the 20th, we went to a class with our buddies. The class I went to was Japanese. The students in the class did a test. We spent the rest of the day at Michonoku Park. It was very pretty. After school, some students threw us a goodbye party. We had food and played bingo. It was really sad saying goodbye. On Saturday the 21st, my host family took me shopping, and out for lunch. It was my last day with them. On Sunday the 22nd, our host families dropped us off at the station. It was very sad saying goodbye to them. We then went on a train to Tokyo Disneyland. We spent the day there. It was really cool. We stayed at the hotel airport for the night, then flew out the next morning.

Achievements:

• I used Japanese to ask my host family where we going. On Saturday I said "きょはどこにいきますか" (Where are we going today?)