Trip to Japan - Spring Break 2014
Students from Belmont and EMCS toured Japan for nine days during Spring Break 2014. Each day was filled from dawn to dusk as students experienced Japan’s many traditional cultural events, picturesque landscapes, trendy fashions, local cuisine and modern-day architecture.
Hot Springs:
In Atami, students stayed in a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) where they put on yukata (cotton kimono) and ate traditional meals and slept on a futon. An amazing experience for them was to enjoy a hot spring public bath (onsen) both indoors and outdoors. Many of them enjoyed it so much they went back several times.
Sister High School, Kyoto Giadai Nishi High School:
Our visit with high school students from our sister school was one of the highlights of the trip. At Kyoto Movie Studio Park, students walked through Medieval architecture, taking pictures with samurai and ninjas. The students communicated in each other's languages and exchanged Facebook and e-mail addresses. It was a great inter-cultural experience for both sets of students and we were pleased to have made some connection with our sister school.
Shopping:
The students were fascinated with Tokyo’s shopping districts – Shibuya and Harajuku (a mixture of large department stores and stalls catering to youth), Akihabara (the electronics district) and the arcades and local markets in Kyoto. Students shopped for clothing, souvenirs, food, electronics, manga books and anime goods. They also had a chance to go to a large supermarket where they could buy lunch and snacks, and examine a myriad of objects, which was a first-time experience for them.
We were part of the "sea" of over 30,000 people every half an hour who cross a famous intersection in Shibuya.
Hakone and Kamakura:
The bus trip from Toyko to Kyoto took us to Hakone where we went on a boat cruise on Lake Ashi and rode a cable car up the mountain to smell and see the rising volcanic sulfuric fumes of Owakudani. We all ate the famous hot spring boiled black eggs and added seven years to our lives. We also stopped at Kamakura to view and go inside the Great Buddha, a 13.5 meter high bronze statue
Local Cuisine:
The meals were delectable ranging from traditional Japanese breakfasts to the local specialty dishes of sushi, sashimi, tempura, okonomiyaki, barbecue and chanko. Of course McDonalds and Starbucks were always close by as well as the many vending machines.
Temples, Shrines and Castles:
We visited several temples, shrines and castles each with its own ancient history and symbolism. The Fushimi Shrine in Kyoto was a highlight since parts of the movie "Memoires of the Geisha" was filmed there.
The trip to Japan was very memorable - a new culture was experienced, new friends were made and we would all like to return to Japan in the near future. A special thank you to our tour director in Japan, Jerry Loo. He made the trip special and even arranged a birthday celebration for Gwynneth, Madeline and Christian.
Students from Belmont and EMCS toured Japan for nine days during Spring Break 2014. Each day was filled from dawn to dusk as students experienced Japan’s many traditional cultural events, picturesque landscapes, trendy fashions, local cuisine and modern-day architecture.
Hot Springs:
In Atami, students stayed in a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) where they put on yukata (cotton kimono) and ate traditional meals and slept on a futon. An amazing experience for them was to enjoy a hot spring public bath (onsen) both indoors and outdoors. Many of them enjoyed it so much they went back several times.
Sister High School, Kyoto Giadai Nishi High School:
Our visit with high school students from our sister school was one of the highlights of the trip. At Kyoto Movie Studio Park, students walked through Medieval architecture, taking pictures with samurai and ninjas. The students communicated in each other's languages and exchanged Facebook and e-mail addresses. It was a great inter-cultural experience for both sets of students and we were pleased to have made some connection with our sister school.
Shopping:
The students were fascinated with Tokyo’s shopping districts – Shibuya and Harajuku (a mixture of large department stores and stalls catering to youth), Akihabara (the electronics district) and the arcades and local markets in Kyoto. Students shopped for clothing, souvenirs, food, electronics, manga books and anime goods. They also had a chance to go to a large supermarket where they could buy lunch and snacks, and examine a myriad of objects, which was a first-time experience for them.
We were part of the "sea" of over 30,000 people every half an hour who cross a famous intersection in Shibuya.
Hakone and Kamakura:
The bus trip from Toyko to Kyoto took us to Hakone where we went on a boat cruise on Lake Ashi and rode a cable car up the mountain to smell and see the rising volcanic sulfuric fumes of Owakudani. We all ate the famous hot spring boiled black eggs and added seven years to our lives. We also stopped at Kamakura to view and go inside the Great Buddha, a 13.5 meter high bronze statue
Local Cuisine:
The meals were delectable ranging from traditional Japanese breakfasts to the local specialty dishes of sushi, sashimi, tempura, okonomiyaki, barbecue and chanko. Of course McDonalds and Starbucks were always close by as well as the many vending machines.
Temples, Shrines and Castles:
We visited several temples, shrines and castles each with its own ancient history and symbolism. The Fushimi Shrine in Kyoto was a highlight since parts of the movie "Memoires of the Geisha" was filmed there.
The trip to Japan was very memorable - a new culture was experienced, new friends were made and we would all like to return to Japan in the near future. A special thank you to our tour director in Japan, Jerry Loo. He made the trip special and even arranged a birthday celebration for Gwynneth, Madeline and Christian.