Japan Tour

2019 McClelland College Japan Tour

From the 14th to the 28th of September 2019, McClelland College led a body of 21 students on a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Japan. My name is Jonah Hedges from Year 9, and I was lucky enough to be one of these students. On this tour we did a range of different activities and went to many different amazing places, all of it new and truly a different experience.

On the 14th of September, the group of 21 students and 3 teachers met at Melbourne Airport for our take off to Hong Kong and then excitedly (and finally) to Japan! After giving our farewells to family members and friends, we boarded our flight and left for the first leg of our tour! One lengthy 14 hour flight, 3 hour layover in Hong Kong and yet another 4 hour flight, we touched down and said “hello!” to the beauty of Nagoya.

Our first day in Japan was pretty memorable, seeing the sights on the way to the hotel and experiencing night life on the way to dinner, it was an almost flawless start to an unforgettable trip. The (thankfully air-conditioned) bus from the airport to the hotel was definitely not a highlight, but it was a great way to give us all an idea of what we were going to see and do during the two week stay. Staying at the beautiful Nagoya Castle Plaza hotel, the rooms were a welcome sight with comfy beds and lavish bathrooms after a near whole day of travel, alas there was still a few hours sight-seeing and activity-doing before we could sleep. For dinner that first night, we went to the nearby train station to find our own food. Simply walking around with friends, seeing all the locals and smelling the delicious food. Now that was fun! Myself and a small gang of friends found a really nice restaurant to eat at, however only after trial and error a few times. I myself got a fantastic Wagyu steak, which was truly just flawless. Communicating with the Japanese server was definitely not the easiest thing, however through many attempts we eventually ordered, ate, paid and regrouped, with a side of friendly banter and memory making.

Travelling back to the hotel, which was thankfully nearby with tired legs and jetlag, was a fun bit of time seeing the night life and beautiful building lights. Think small scale Times Square, NY. Getting back into our rooms after saying goodnight to fellow group members was so nice, and to fall onto the beds in comfy pyjamas was incredibly satisfying. Waking up early at 6am to get a great start to the most anticipated day for many, we cleaned our rooms and gathered our belongings to travel to Kariya city. Catching the local train was fun and surprisingly similar to what we’re used to here, except they’re extremely punctual. Who would’ve thought train catching could be so formal! Waiting in lines for a train, amazing! Stopping at Kariya train station, everyone had their nerves on edge in anticipation to meet their host students and families! Mine was the Mizuno family, a super friendly and accommodating peoples’ that I’m glad to be able to call my friends.

Hiroto, my host student was a great person with a really relaxed personality that I’m thankful to have spent time with. Yoko, my host mother, was so nice and so accommodating to my inexperience at speaking Japanese. Hiroyuki, my host father, worked late most days however he really brightened the room with his jokes and his great English. Giving our farewells to the group we all went to our families’ homes to settle in and get to really bond with our hosts. Personally, the first night with them on Monday the 16th was a great time spent and a real anticipation builder for the coming days. The room was comfortable and, although I was a bit tall for the bed, I had an awesome sleep ready for the next day! The next day, Tuesday the 17th, we had our first day at Kariyakita Senior High School.

Now I can’t exactly remember everything that we did however I do remember that the building layout was very different to Australia. Kariyakita is a very vertical school with tall multi-storey buildings. I also distinctly remember the Uwabaki (indoor slipper type things) and how hard they were to walk up stairs in and how slippery they were.

Jonah Hedges