On 30 November Maassen Sensei, Miolin Sensei, and Webber Sensei set off with18 LJBC students on the Japan Tour. We flew overnight and hit the ground running on day 1 with a visit to a STEM museum and a digital art museum called ‘Borderless’ on Odaiba island. We had our minds blown by the light art at Borderless and all enjoyed the robotics and science projects available at Miraikan.

Over the next few days in Tokyo, we visited traditional places such as Asakusa Shrine, Meiji Jingu, and some more modern places such as Disney Land and Tokyo Skytree Tower. We met with some students from a local school in Tokyo and our students became ‘insta followers’ with bonds instantly made. It was so rewarding to see our students using their Japanese and enjoying the company and hospitality of the Japanese.

After seeing some of the main sights of Tokyo, we took the shinkansen and went into the mountains of Nagano where we stayed at a ‘ryokan’ Japanese style inn and we enjoyed the change of pace from Tokyo, some fresh air, and some cooler weather. We went to see the snow monkeys keeping warm in the natural ‘onsen’ hot springs at Yudanaka and enjoyed the 2km hike either way. We were reminded that anything worth seeing in Japan is usually at the top of a very long, steep set of stairs! Back at our ryokan we were treated to a very Japanese style ‘sukiyaki’ meal in a traditional hall where there was certainly no shortage of food. Students all embraced the different foods and we saw many step out of their comfort zones! After dinner we bonded over a few hours of Karaoke where every one let their hair down and got involved. Luckily, we were out in the countryside as some voices were a little better than others!

From the country side we then went on to base ourselves in Shin-Osaka with easy access to the Shinkansen line. We did a little more sightseeing in places such as Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Nara before visiting our sister school Hanazono. Students loved reconnecting with students they have hosted in the past as well as participating in some traditional club activities. We were greeted by teachers, students and members of the P&C and our students were surprised by the excitement which we received when we arrived; many saying they felt like super stars!

The tour group are commended on their behavior, their ability to try new things and embrace the different, as well as how well they looked after each other and took turns in leading the way. We were all so proud of how they conducted themselves, even when tired and hungry!

We look forward to hosting our sister school Hanazono here at LJBC in Term 3 this year and we will be asking again for people to volunteer as host families. We thank the families in advance for hosting as without your support the relationship could not continue! More information to come at a later date.

Webber sensei and Maassen Sensei

Japanese Teachers