Over the September school holiday break, 14 students and three teachers set off on the Japan Study Tour for a trip of a lifetime. After a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19, it was great to reconnect with our sister school, Hōryūji International High School (or Hōkoku for short). The Study Tour started with a long weekend where students were thrown into the everyday lives of their host families. Despite a bit of a language barrier, all students arrived on the first day of school with big smiles on their faces and many stories to share.
The program that Hōkoku offered for us was absolutely incredible. Throughout the week we were able to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony (sadō), flower arranging (ikebana), Japanese calligraphy (shodō), a music class where we learnt to play handbells, Japanese archery (kyūdō), an art class where we made a wind chime (fūrin) and a tour of Hōryūji, which includes the world's oldest wooden building. We were also lucky enough to go on a full-day excursion to Kyoto. There we saw Kiyomizudera, a famous Buddhist temple, which is a part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Fushimi Inari Taisha, one of the most impressive Shinto shrines in Japan. Our week at Hōkoku came to an end far too quickly, and if the number of tears shed when we said goodbye was anything to go by, it was clear that all involved had the most memorable experience possible.
The second half of our trip involved catching bullet trains (shinkansen) down to Hiroshima for a few days and then back up to Tokyo to finish off our trip. In Hiroshima we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, laid our 1000 paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument and visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. We were also lucky enough to enjoy a day trip to Miyajima, an island off the coast of Hiroshima, where we hiked, shopped, took many photos, engaged with the local deer and tasted the local treats. In Tokyo we ‘shopped 'til we dropped’, visited the world's busiest train station in Shinjuku, got among the crowds at the Shibuya crossing and spent a long, adventure-packed day at Tokyo Disneyland.
The 16 days spent in Japan have left us with memories that we will truly never forget and friendships that will remain strong for decades to come. Thank you to all the students and staff for making this Study Tour a memorable one and to the families for allowing their children the opportunity to experience Japanese culture in such a unique way.
Below is a reflection from one of the students:
The two weeks that we spent in Japan was the absolute best experience. Staying with a host family opened our eyes to see what general overall life is like for a student in Japan. We ate some unbelievable and different food such as heaps of sushi and fish, as well as heaps of beef including tongue and lungs. I will be staying in touch with the Japanese students as we have made amazing friendships and I will return in the future to see them all again. I could not recommend this experience more to future students at MLMC.
— Mitchell R (Year 10 Green)
