2023 Japanese Trip

On November 30th we embarked on our journey to Japan, leaving from Wellington airport at 6:20am. Together with 9 other students and 3 adults, we had a smooth (albeit tiring) 2 flights before we arrived at Haneda Airport, Tokyo. Once in Japan, we made our way to our first hotel which we would stay in for one night before making our way to our next destination, Hiroshima. 

Despite our short stay in Hiroshima, it was a beautiful place to visit. On our second day in Hiroshima, we spent the first half of the day at Hiroshima Peace Park and Memorial Museum. It was a saddening experience to see the aftermath of such a devastating event. After the museum, we embarked via ferry to Itsukushima. Here, we got to see Itsukushima Shrine and the famous torii (gate) that sits in the water. 

Our next destination was Osaka, where we stayed for 5 nights. A former Otaki College exchange student from Germany joined us for the rest of the trip here, making 11 students total. On our third day in Osaka, we visited former Otaki College student Josh Minty’s kindergarten. This kindergarten in particular only allows the children to speak in English, so it was easy to converse with them. We played some games together and they even gave us gifts.

After Osaka, we stayed for one night in Takayama. Our stay was short, but this beautiful town perched in the mountains was well worth the visit. From the delicious ramen to the traditional architecture, Takayama has to be one of my personal favourite locations from this trip. Another favourite would be Kyoto, our next location after Takayama. There, we visited many beautiful temples and shrines on a guided tour.  Our last location was Tokyo, where we stayed for 6 nights. The hotel was very cramped, but we made the most of our stay as we visited places such as Asakusa and Meiji Shrine.

Overall, it was an amazing experience that we all very much enjoyed. We learned a lot about Japan and I would highly recommend visiting.

Report by Xoya Andrews, who is studying Year 13 Japanese in 2024