Over the next few weeks, we are going to share highlights of the Japan Tour 2024 with our community through the newsletter and at assembly. We hope you enjoy reading about our wonderful experience and amazing adventures.

Hi, my name is Logan and I would like to tell you about our afternoon at school in Japan. First and foremost, I’m going to tell you about the group activity time after lunch. The Grade 5 classes taught us a game called “Daruma san ga koronda”. We learnt how to play by following their demonstrations. The game was a little bit like “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” It was a lot of fun to play with the whole year level. Following that, we taught the year level how to play Fruit Basket, but we used Aussie foods instead. After the school taught us a dance, the State School Spectacular students in our group taught the Grade 5 classes a dance too. We finished the afternoon with a goodbye ceremony. As we all sat down, we got handed an origami samurai helmet made by the students. Some Japanese students presented a speech on behalf of the school. Then as they finished the speech, we handed them the gifts from our school, which included, a 5 cent coin, a chocolate, and other assorted goodies. At the end of the school day, we were given origami gifts as we left. Outside in the playground as we left the school, the drumming club was practising. A few students who were wearing what looked like kimonos, were playing great music.

By Logan

I'm super excited to tell you all about my awesome adventure in Japan. It was packed with fun times and awesome memories that I'll never forget.

We started our journey to Tokyo Disneyland around 8:30 am. We first jumped onto 2 packed subway trains and then a normal train to get to there. When we first arrived, it felt like walking into a magical world.

Tokyo Disneyland has all the classic rides but with a Japanese twist. Everything looked so neat and colourful and felt like we were in a storybook! We went on Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain and Star Tour.

My favourite ride was Big Thunder Mountain. I went on it two times because it was just that much fun. It’s like a runaway mine train that zooms through a rocky mountain with lots of twists and turns, and some cool drops that make you scream with excitement.

The food, man it was so good. Most of us got Mike Wazowski melon bread or Minnie Mouse jelly which looked awesome and tasted great.

Disney was an unforgettable experience and I made lots of amazing memories with my friends.

By Spencer

After our 4 days in Tokyo, we took the bullet train to Hiroshima, travelling at 320 km/h. The four-hour ride was smooth but long. We passed the time playing cards, talking, sleeping, and reading. Before hoping on the train, we all chose an obento box, which are boxes of assorted Japanese food, snacks like pocky, and drinks. The train was 250 meters long with about 16 carriages, featuring reclining seats, tables, and overhead lockers. It was amazing to cover 1000 kilometres in 4 hours instead of spending a whole day driving.

By Georgia

On Day 5 of our trip, we visited the city of Hiroshima. This is where an atomic bomb was dropped by America at the end of World War II, on the 6th of August, 1945. To remember this terrible day and all the people who lost their lives, or were affected by the bomb, the Hiroshima Peace Park was built.

In the park, we went to see The Children’s Peace Monument, which has a statue of Sadako Sasaki standing on the top of it. Sadako Sasaki was a young Japanese girl who was one of the many victims of the atomic bomb. Due to radiation poisoning from the bomb, she developed leukaemia, which is a type of cancer, and died when she was only 12 years old. Surrounding the monument, there are glass cases filled with paper cranes which are made by children from all around the world. Before Sadako passed away, she wanted to make 1000 paper cranes, as Japanese tradition says that if someone creates 1000 cranes, they are granted one wish. Sadako’s wish was to have a world without nuclear weapons. This is why all the students at our school made paper cranes, which we took with us and hung near the statue.

Another monument we saw was the Peace Bell. Visitors are encouraged to ring the bell for world peace, so you can hear the bell ringing regularly throughout the park. We all went and rang the bell together, which you can see in the photo. You ring the bell by swinging a wooden beam into it. Even with all of us pulling the beam together, it was still very heavy and hard to swing.

We also saw the Atomic Bomb Dome, which is the only building to remain standing after the bomb exploded in Hiroshima. The building used to be the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, but has now been preserved as a ruin. Through the efforts of many people, the ruin has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. As you can see in the photo, only the skeleton of the dome remains.

By Harry

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