Japanese Excursion

Trip to Japan 2016

Day 1 & 2:

The wait was over, after months of planning & preparation the party of 20 assembled at Cowra High for their 2 weeks of adventure to Japan.  Thanks to the trusty driving of Terry Johns and Nick Perkins we arrived in Sydney with time to spare.

A late night departure from Sydney meant we arrived early morning in good spirits despite some of us getting the minimum of sleep, at Haneda Airport, Tokyo. It took cool heads to make the frantic transfer to an adjoining terminal to catch our domestic flight to Osaka. Two hours to collect our luggage, hop on a transfer bus and back through customs and security. A short flight, with many straining to catch our first glimpse of Japan, saw us in a wet Osaka. Travelling was still not quite done though, as we had to catch another bus for the 40 minute roadtrip to Kyoto. Exciting to be in a different country, however the rain was getting heavier. Travelling is fun but sometimes not easy, as we found out as a cloudburst soaked every one of us as we made a mad dash from the bus stop to our hotel!

This long day was far from over though. The humidity of Kyoto was starting to tell on a few of us, coming off a cool and wet Cowra winter! We caught our first Japanese train a couple of stops to our first Kyoto shrine, the brightly coloured Fushimi Inari Shrine. The Shinto shrine comprising of 1000s of red Torii gates was established more than a millennium ago during the Heian period. The shrine climbs up for more than 2 kilometres through the woodlands. Today it was mist shrouded in the drizzle. A few brave guys tried to make it the top, however the humidity and lack of sleep took its toll.

By now most of us were hanging out for a shower and a few did just that when we caught the train back to the hotel. However a few of us squeezed in another local attraction before dinner, the nearby Higashi Honganji, a massive Pure Land Buddhist Temple.

Day 3

The New Miyako Hotel sure knows how to put on a breakfast, and we were spoilt for choice in terms of what was on offer.

The rain was still threatening as we caught the shinkansen or bullet train south to Himeje where we spent a couple of hours wandering the magnificent White Castle dating from the early Togugawa Shogunate. It has survived earthquakes and the horror of the WW2 bombs. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We had time to catch lunch in Himeji before to headed back on the shinkansen to Kyoto. We found a gem of a local eating place serving okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake dish.

Day 4

This day was spent in Kyoto where we toured some of the most well known attractions by bus and foot. First up was Kinkaku-ji Zen Buddhist Temple or better known as the Golden Pavilion. The sun was out for our visit however it also appeared as if the rest of the world was there too!

Next up we walked the kilometre or so to Ryoan-ji Rinzai Buddhist Temple which houses one of the world’s best examples of “kare-sansui” or dry landscape garden. We have our own fine replica here at the Cowra Japanese Garden. The group spent a wonderfully peaceful hour here.

Temple visiting does wonders for the appetite and we were duly rewarded when we dropped into a local sushi train restaurant near the garden. This was a highlight of the trip where we delighted in choosing different foods from the train and working out how we ordered and paid for it!

Day 5

Saw us take a local train 30 minutes south of Kyoto to the ancient capital of Nara. More temples, however today we hired push bikes to tour the magnificent Nara Park, where we mingled with the herds of inquisitive deer. A visit to the massive Todai-ji Buddhist temple which houses the largest bronze Buddha in Japan, another UNESCO World Heritage site, was viewed as one of the highlights of the tour.

Day 6

After a few days of touring temples it was high time for a touch of kitsch. We took the short train ride west to the Toei Studio where we were treated to some amazingly agile Samurai sword fighting.

Later in the day we ventured to the far west of Kyoto to wander through the famous Bamboo groves of Arashiyama.

Day 7

Day 7 saw us leave our base at Kyoto and head south to Hiroshima aboard the forever punctual shinkansen. This was a very sobering visit indeed, where we spent time close to where the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on the 6 August 1945 during WW2. We gathered at the Genbaku Dome, which stands still as a reminder of the horrors of that day. The students listened to a very interesting talk from an in utero survivor. Later we spent time at the nearby Peace Museum. The students gained a far better understanding of this awful period of history.

Later in the afternoon we caught the train and ferry to the nearby Miyajima Island which sits in Hiroshima Bay. The entire island is regarded as a Shinto shrine. This is where we would spend the night in a traditional guesthouse or ryokan, where we a tremendous Japanese dinner and breakfast.

Day 8

An early start on the Island saw us catch the ferry back to the mainland, hopping aboard the shinkansen to Kyoto where we picked up our luggage, had a final lunch in the city of temples before we headed north to Tokyo. We were due to meet up with our host families at the incredibly busy station.

We were amazed when we came across a very excited group of families, most of whom were holding welcoming signs.

Days 9 to 11

A change of pace and scenery as most of the next few days were spent at Seikei school. An initial surprise was the expectation that everyone remove their shoes as we entered the buildings and put on our slippers!

Cowra High students spent a truly wonderful few days shadowing their host brothers and sisters in class. Whilst very different we were amazed how many similarities there are too. The days are started like ours in a whole school assembly, muster. Olivia Perkins addressed Seikei school in Japanese.

Special events over the three days included a calligraphy class and a tea ceremony.

Days 12 & 13

Cowra students spent these days together with their host families. They were taken to a myriad of different places in the Tokyo area and were lucky enough to see a variety of sights, from Sumo wrestling to climbing the slopes of Mt Fuji. For many this time with their Japanese families was the highlight of the tour.

The final night saw us together all again for the end of tour “sayonara” dinner, with all students, host families, staff and an array of Seikei exchanges students in attendance. Whilst it was an enjoyable get together with many speeches and laughter it was also sad as we all were aware that a magic two weeks was drawing to a close.

Final Day

The Cowra mob gathered again for one last day of sightseeing. We made our way via the byzantine Tokyo transport network to venture to the Tokyo Skytree. Whilst overcast we were treat to some super views. What a city!

Tearful farewells were aplenty as we said goodbye. Some host families even made the trip to the airport. Despite two weeks of full on sightseeing, socialising and study as you can see some of us still had energy to burn!