Homeward Bound
Osaka – Tokyo – Melbourne
Woke at: 7.30am
Arrived back at hotel: no hotel for us tonight…. sleeping on the plane.
Weather: 34 Osaka … 31 Tokyo… 16 Melbourne Brrrrrrrr.
Transport : Train, Plane, Bus.
Distance walked: 10382 steps or 13.34km
Fastest Speed: 900 km/h ish
So we are home…. tired…. but home on Australian soil.
We started the day with a late breakfast in Osaka and after completing our reflections, cleaning up, conducting a live cross to school for Morning Announcements, and packing our bags, we started our long journey home.
We began our journey in the same way we spent so many of the days in Japan, with the long red conga line of legs and bags weaving through the crowds who shared the footpaths. Onto a train at Osake Train Station bound for the man made island especially designed for the airport…. I guess they ran out of room on the mainland. After a tour of the airport to checkout some of the more out of the way spots, we finally found our gate, checked the luggage and waited for the call to board. Oh how the kids have grown their travelling legs….. almost independent through the airports, knowing when to create single file, double lines and of course when to ‘Teacher Up’ (the kids can explain this one)
We travelled Jetstar to Tokyo and landed along way from the terminal meaning a bus was needed just to get to the main building. This was followed by an 859m walk along pathways designed like running tracks to get to the Qantas check in. Checked in and then funnily enough we decided to shop for the next 3 hours!!
Exhausted, we boarded our final flight bound for Melbourne. It was like someone didn’t want this trip to finish, as we were delayed at both ends with a long queue of planes on the tarmac in Tokyo and then a few circles around the skies over Victoria. This, however was quickly forgotten as Buninyong got a mention over the loud speaker at take off and landing. This was a testament to how wonderful the kids travelled and the mark they left on those who they interacted with during the trip.
So through customs and into the arms of parents, the trip came to a very quick end.
Thanks to everyone who has made this trip a reality. From the parents who have entrusted us with their children, to the staff at school who were so flexible with the arrangements.
To Mel and Ben who were so amazing as parent volunteers, your organisation, advice, initiative and at times parenting hugs and tips made this trip one to remember.
To Bernie and Katie who took time away from their own families to allow such a trip to happen, a huge thank-you for all the work you have done. The planning in the lead up to the trip and the cool heads during the madness of Japan travel was invaluable.
And……. the final word goes to Narelle, who makes everything look so easy, thanks for the endless hours of planning, phone calls, emails, studying of maps and timetables, interpreting, negotiating and shopping tips. There is a reason why this trip runs so smoothly and that is because of you. From all of us, a huge thank-you….. You have created a memory that none of us will forget and we will look back on fondly for the rest of our lives. I am sure you are going to sleep well for the next few days.
Over the next week or so we will be gathering pictures and videos form the trip… stay tuned for more information.
Sayonara!!
Mr Conlan is there anything you would like to say?
Osaka
Woke at: 8.00am
Arrived back at hotel: 9.30pm
Weather: 34 – Osaka, takes the prize for the hottest train station…. searching for A/C’s where ever we could get them.
Transport : Trains galore.
Distance walked: 18683 steps or 13.81km
Fastest Speed: Train speed,,,, not the bullet train just the regular underground train.
Today we made our way from Hiroshima to Osaka which is a really hip Japanese city with a population of over 2 million people. This was a new part of the Japanese experience for everyone as last time we didnt venture to Osaka. after a few wrong turns we made our way to the Sushi Bar for lunch. Ordering the many different types of sushi was a real experience. The Sushi Bar was in a really cool street with lots of large figures hanging over the street. The huge Blow Fish is a very famous part of this street.
After lunch we made our way to the Aquarium which was a amazing. Wondering through the multiple levels of the building allowed us to see fish at the many different levels of an ocean. There was even an Australian section that highlighted the Great Barrier Reef.
We had time for one more shopping experience in a near by mall, before getting lost once again on the Osaka underground. We crawled home at about 9.30pm to settle into our rooms, call parents and sleep.
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I can’t wait to get back to Ballarat,
The cold never bothered me anyway.
And the flight is going to be awesome
Its funny how some distance makes everything seem small.
And we all have gotten used to Japan
And the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all.
Its funny how ‘Let it go’ predicted the future.
We went to the aquarium today and it was so cool, they had some normal animals like dolphins, sharks, seals turtles and fish, but they also had other animals like Japanese spider crab, whale shark and some form of duck.
It was so beautiful and my favourite was the wall of jelly fish. There was about 20 aquariums filled with jellyfish in a dark room, it was so relaxing.
Overall today has been awesome and I am really sad to be leaving Japan, but super excited to see my family again.
This is Izzy for the last time in Japan, syonara.
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Yo yo yo we’re not in Kyoto. It’s our last day in Japan and yesterday we went on a bullet train to Osaka. After the bullet train we went to the biggest aquarium in Japan, it was beautiful. We saw Dolphins, Penguins, Stingrays, Sharks, Fish and not to mention a Whale Shark, it was amazing.
After that we went to our next hotel, the hotels were nice. Today we are going back to Tokyo by plane than taking a bullet train to the airport and having lunch there. Then we are having a bit of a shopping spree at the airport while we wait for our next plane.
After that we are getting our tickets for the plane and checking in our luggage. We will be sent back to Ballarat which will take 10 hours. We will get lots of sleep on the plane because it is an overnight trip in the plane. We will land in the Melbourne airport and will see our mums dads and maybe our siblings and for some will go by shuttle bus back to Ballarat see you all Friday.
Sayonara.
Marli
Magical Miyajima
Woke at: 7.30am
Arrived back at hotel: 5.00pm
Weather: 35 – hot, hot, hot…. had us looking for that cooling breeze all day.
Transport : Train, ferry, rope way and then legged it all over Miyajima Island.
Distance walked: 20752 steps or 15.34km
Fastest Speed: very slow modes of transport today. Allowed us to really enjoy the magical scenery in this part of Japan.
Our day was great, a whole day of shopping and exploring. We got up at 7:00am so we could go to breakfast. I wasn’t that hungry so I didn’t finish mine but still it was laid on for us, there was mountains of food all over the room to choose from.
After that we caught a train out of the city where we boarded a ferry for a quick ride to Miyajima Island.
We started with a walk around to see the massive Tori Gate that stands at 16m high in the water.
Then we split into groups to choose our own adventure. I went in a shopping group with Mrs Sullivan. We started hiking a mountain than took an elevator thing (rope way) to the top where the views of the surrounding islands were sensational. It was very hot so we didnt hike to the summit which was another 30 mins up the track. We all wanted to chack out the shops so we hopped back on the rope way and made our way back to the bottom.
We got an ice cream then did some shopping and I bought a kimono and other cool items. After that we got a shaved ice cup because it was so hot. We all met up again to share the stories from our own adventures on the island.
The day wasn’t over yet as Mrs Sullivan needed to spend some more of her hard earned cash in the shops so we got back into some groups of three or four and off we went again. I went with Ned , Sean and Mr Young. Mr Young tricked us by saying he was taking us to find some great deals but really it was a shrine. I think MRs Sullivan needs to teach him how to shop!! Eventually we did find some buildings that resembled shops and still got lots of shopping done.
After that we caught the ferry back to the main land. That’s our day on the 8th day of the Japan trip.
Billy G
Today was one the best days so far. First we had a late breakfast (gotta love a sleep in) and then we took the train to the place where you catch a ferry.
We caught a ferry to Miyajima Island. It is a small island with everything; shops, beach, steep mountains, beautiful scenery and of course the huge Tori Gate. Unfortunately the Tori Gate was under construction which only happens once every 50 years. It was sad not to see it for real but Mrs Sullivan told us that we are lucky to see it with scaffolds all around as it only happens every 50 years. Hmmmmm!
When we got there, we had a walk around the island then we split into groups to have a further look. We went shopping and some of us went in a cable car to the top of the mountain and to the aquarium that apparently had huge seals. We spent the day exploring the island and then sharing our stories with each other while dodging the wild deer which roam freely down the main street.
At about 4 pm we started to head back on the ferry, caught the train and went back to the hotel. We spent about half an hour there then we went and got dinner. There were some really interesting choices at the supermarket where we shopped tonight and it was great to see most people trying new Japanese cuisine.
We ended our day by packing our stuff for the next day, ready to goto Osaka.
By Shaeli.
Reflective Hiroshima
Woke at: 6.30am
Arrived back at hotel: 8.00pm
Weather: 35 – clear and hot
Transport : Bullet train, bus and a fair bit of leg work…..with our cases.
Distance walked: 13914 steps or 10.2km
Fastest Speed: 306km/h
Today, Sunday the 8th of September we woke at the crack of dawn ready and packed for the exquisite adventure that awaited us. We woke at 7:00am and luckily had already packed our stuff the night before. We headed down to breakfast and off we went.
We caught the bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima on the train. I played Emoji UNO and Doctor’s with Izzy and Shaeli, it was loads of fun. We got off the AIR CONDITIONED train into the stinking hot heat and headed to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel and all I could think to myself was that this place is too fancy for us, but oh well. Then we set off to a park where we met these soccer players that were about to play a game in Hiroshima.
After that we caught a bus from the train station all the way to the Peace Park. There we saw the A-bomb Dome, it was a beautiful piece of structure and amazed me how it stayed up. From there we headed to the Sadako statue where I rang the golden crane to commit a life of peace. We also hung the cranes that had been made in Ballarat and we had carried with us for this moment.
Then it was time to go to the museum. The museum was touching and moving. It was sad but also really nice, it was horrible to think of all the tragedy that had happened in our world and how we have tried to stop it. It is sad to think that there is still violence going on in this world, maybe we will never never reach world peace but at least we could try to help our earth and help our lives.
Savannah
Today we got up at 6:30 am and we went to the train station to get on the Bullet train so we could get to Hiroshima.
On the way we saw some solar panels and lots of rice fields. When we arrived, we went to our hotel and dropped the suitcases off.
After that we went to the park, where we put our sunscreen on and saw some high level soccer team.
Mr Young was very excited about lunch. We sat in front of a hotplate while they were cooking up a delicious lunch.
Next we went and hung all the paper cranes at the Children’s Peace Monument. I rang the bell and wished for peace. Going through the Hiroshima peace memorial museum was very sad and some of the stories were upsetting. I hope the same thing never happens again.
We came back on the bus and we went to dinner.
Max
The Magical Mystery Tour
Woke at: 7.30am
Arrived back at hotel: between 8 and 9.30pm
Weather: 35 – clear, hot with a light breeze when standing in front of a fan.
Transport : Mainly out legs…. a couple of trains.
Distance walked: 26688 steps or 19.6km
Fastest Speed: 43km (down hill in the old local bus)
It was a new day in the heart of the old Japanese capital city entitled Kyoto, Japan. We woke up like lazy lions to a beautiful breakfast with fresh salads, fruits and breads.
We were promised a magical mystery tour and boy did we get our money worth today. We started our tour, led strangely by Mrs Sullivan’s apprentice Mr Young, past a Family Mart store where we got some snacks. I got Pocky, a Japanese biscuits tradition, a chocolate bar and a small packet of chips.
15 minutes later we were getting off a busy train at a busy hour of the day. We walked into a few backstreet lanes and just as I was getting worried, we stumbled into a high, green, strong bamboo forest it was amazing, although I would of loved if it lasted longer than it did.
When we got out of the bamboo forest I asked Mr Young what public transport we were taking to our next destination. The answer I got was ‘your legs son’, which super surprised me considering it was a sensationally sunny day. Anyway 30 minutes later after 3 wrong turns and walking up and down and all around, we found our way up a huge hill. We all hiked surprisingly well (without too many whinges) to get to some very cute, but dangerous monkeys.
After that it was all about the fun walk down. After that we had lunch, I had Gyu-Don food with chicken onion and rice, it was lovely. Soon everyone had flavoured ice cream and we were all hyped for the 100 yen shop. Yes there was a lot of bargains but nothing suited me.
That was the end of our magical mystery tour and Mrs Sullivan certainly learnt a lot.
Cooper
Our day started with a great long sleep in until 8:00am. Well, it was great if it wasn’t for the fact Ned woke me up at 6:00am with snoring power, so we started getting our bags ready for the day.
We were going to be out till 4:00pm, one of the shorter days, so we hopped on a train and headed to the bamboo forest which, by the way next time I go, remind me to wear bug repellent as everyone got devoured. At least Mrs Sullivan has mosquito bite ointment!!
Then we went on a treacherous 30 minutes 65°angle hike in 35 degrees weather. I drank a lot of water after witnessing a great view of Kyoto and playing with all the adorable monkeys. There was a baby and a mother but we weren’t allowed to feed them directly.
After a long walk, we divided up to get lunch. I got a curry which was one of the best curry’s I have ever had. I quickly devoured it then went to the meeting spot for the group. We had a short amount of time to get a ice cream.
We stopped on the way home at the 100 Yen Shop and an authentic Japanese supermarket. I used a vending machine (there were so many of them out the front of the shop) and got Caramel. After that we went back to the hotel and had 1 hour till dinner. When it was time we got a choice of two options for tea; a sushi train or shopping centre food court. I chose sushi train and after dinner we came home and packed for tomorrow.
For the first time on the trip we had a little free time in our rooms, which led up to right now. So that was our day. We’re over half way through the trip and I hope next week is as fun as this week.
Written by Billy G
Sentimental about Temples in Kyoto
Woke at: 7am
Arrived back at hotel: 8.30pm
Weather: 35 – too hot to be hitting the pavement ….. lucky to have an air conditioned bus!!
Transport : Private bus, public bus.
Distance walked: 16256 steps or 12km
Fastest Speed: 43km (down hill in the old local bus)
Today was the BEST, we visited 3 temples/Castles Nijo-jo Castle, Kinkakuji and The Kiyomizudera Temple but first I will talk about the Castle.
Nijo-jo Castle was so cool, the paintings and carvings in the rooms were AMAZING, they use 35 centimetre thick wood to carve the pictures. They actually carve a picture on one side and carve a different picture on the other side so that they have different pictures on each side.
Most of the paintings were replicas as most were in storage or on a display at a museum, but a few of the pictures were still the originals. The floors in Nijo-jo Castle were “Nightingale floors” every time you stepped on them they squeaked, I think that they would have been to alert them if there were intruders. Especially those pesky ninjas. But Professionals say it was on accident, but I don’t believe that.
Kinkakuji ‘the Golden Temple’ was surely they most beautiful temple I have seen! It has been burnt down numerous times including twice during a civil war. It was also burnt down in 1950 by a jealous monk, who after, tried to commit suicide. He was sent to jail but later on it was discovered that his mother had committed suicide, Kinkakuji was rebuilt in 1955. The top two floors have gold leaf covering everything.
The Kiyomizudera Temple has a 13 metre high stage built with no nails, 200 people jumped off, 30 died and 170 survived. These people believed that if they jumped and survived, a wish would be granted to them.
All over, my favourite was the Golden temple because it still looks amazing leven though it was burnt down 3 times.
Masyn J
Hi everyone!! Today we went to the Ninja studio, so far this has been the highlight of Japan! First we all had a quick meeting at the ninja shopping centre and then we went to do our own things.
In my group was Leila, Ned and I. We went to the shopping centre where I brought my auntie a get well Sakura charm. Then Leila, Ned and I went in the photo booth and took some pretty funny pictures.
Once we finished shopping we went to the ninja show, which was the best thing of the day! There were samurai and emperors and ALOT of flips and tricks! If you’re going to Japan, I definitely recommend this! Thank you for reading this blog, sayonara!!!
Mieke D
Learning our Lessons in Toyohama
Woke at: 5am
Arrived hotel: 6.15pm
Weather: 31 – clear with light breeze. (just not quite strong enough to keep the foot odour at bay).
Transport : BulletTrain, legs, escalators mini bus
Distance walked: 114845 steps or 10.97km
Fastest Speed: 287km
Konnichiwa!
Today we visited Toyohama Elementary School. Whilst there were many similarities between Buninyong and Toyohama, there was also quite a few differences. To start with we had an assembly in their gym. With around 130 students it wasn’t very full! We all introduced ourselves and then they showed us a special performance, which must have taken a lot of practise.
At lunchtime everyone was provided with a delicious lunch of ramen noodles, soup, fried chicken and more. When everyone was finished, the students cleaned up. They seperate cutlery, stacked plates and rinsed out milk cartons.
Then, being a technology free school, we proceeded to play games until it was time for us to wave goodbye to our newly made friends.
We had a lovely day at Toyohama Elementary School and it was a day I won’t forget!
~ Hilary
The Bullet Train ride went fast, the scenery was a blur so we all played Uno and talked about what we are thankful for.
It was a great experience because we could all see how different our schools are, for instance they have to clean their own food bowls and brush their teeth after every meal. Yes, at school!! What a great idea.
While we were there I made a lot of friends and also made them laugh because I didn’t know what to do or what they were saying.
On the ride back we were all exhausted because of all the fun we had and the friends we made at the school.
By. Kristin
Have you ever had butterflies in your stomach? Well today l had pterodactyl’s flying in my stomach, when l spoke at our sister school, Toyohama Elementary School. The whole day was a blast.
In the afternoon we played games and made origami. The day was a highlight!
We have just caught, a bullet train from Toyohama to Kyoto and as I write this we are tralling at over 250km per hours.
Olivia
A Techno Tokyo
Woke at: 7am
Arrived hotel: 6pm
Weather: 26 – partly cloudy with a lovely breeze.
Transport : Train, legs, elevator, escalators, monorail and bus.
Distance walked: 18044 steps or 13.3 km
This morning we woke up at around 7:00am and started getting ready. Then we had breakfast.
Today we took a train or two to the Mori Digital Art Museum and all of the lights were amazing, it was so magical.
Then we had lunch, miso soup, rice, sea food tempura and noodles.
After lunch we went to the museum of science and innovation. We saw some robots, mechanics and awesome technology advancements. We saw ASIMO who is a dancing robot, it could dance (obviously), hop, play soccer and so much more.
Then we took some trains and busses to the Gundam statue, which is a large statue of a transformer like thing – Animae
After that we made our way home, had dinner and started getting ready for tomorrow at the sister school. mel and Ben made us the most amazing fruit platters, which everyone gobbled up.
Syonara!
Izzy and Shaeli.
In the morning we got up at about 6:30am then we had breakfast. Max had toast and rice and Marli had rice, a mini croissant and orange juice. After breakfast we went to the train station and after we took the train. we boarded the monorail to the Digital Art Museum. We visited many rooms in the dark which had lots of sound and light shows. One room had thousands of light bulbs (or it seemed like that anyway…. look at the photos and see what you think)
Then we took another train to the Science Museum which was amazing. There were robots and lots of computers.
We went to the statue called the Flame of Freedom, which came from France for a sign of peace and friendship. We then went to another statue called Gundam. To me it looked a bit like a giant Transforma.
We then took another train and bus and the bus was super crowded.
For dinner we had food from Family Mart. Max and I both had Japanese chicken nuggets and Bubble tea. Then we came back to the hotel and ate our dinner
And practised our speech for the visit to the sister school, which is on tomorrow. We have to clean our rooms tonight as in the morning we must be up at 5.30am.
Day 2: 25000 steps through Tokyo
Woke at: 7am
Arrived hotel: 9pm (big day)
Weather: 30 and sticky…. very sticky
Transport : train, legs, elevator and many escalators
Distance walked: 25000 steps
,
Today’s experience was one of a lifetime.
First we visited the Meji Jingu Shrine. It was a series of Tori gates connecting a path where we had to bow to the god upon entering. After our walk we went and purified ourself with water.
The Shibuya Crossing was a very exciting experience. If you don’t know what the Shibuya Crossing is, it is where many people cross a busy road at once. It is also the most well know crossing it the whole of Japan.
After that we went and made food that looked like the real deal. To make it we poured hot wax into a tub of warm water in a certain way to look like tempura.
The last activity for the day was going to the Tokyo Skytree in Asakusa. It stood at a whopping 634 metres above sea level. We went up in a elevator right to the top and stood on the glass panel and looked down at the city below. This experience was fantastic!
~Leila & Charlotte