This past summer I had the chance to travel to Japan with the Japanese program, along with fifteen other students. It was an amazing two week trip lead by Japanese teachers Rachel Eio and Fukiko Shapiro.
We stayed at our new Kyoto sister school for a week, then went to various other cities and ended our trip in Tokyo. When we arrived at Kyoto Station, all the host families were waiting for us and we could all feel the nervousness and excitement in the air. We departed from the station with our families and headed to our homes.
The next morning, I chose to watch my host sister Yuka’s lacrosse game. Afterwards, we went to Universal Studios Japan (USJ). I took many pictures with Yuka. We rode on the Jaws Rides with our parents, and I rode on a roller coaster with my host dad. I did some souvenir shopping and watched the Magical Starlight Parade. We did so much it felt like more than a single day.
The next week I attended Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School for about five hours and then departed with the Brookline High School group to go sightseeing. We visited Kiyomizu Dera Temple, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Yatsuhashi Factory (Japanese sweets) and walked down Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka (Old Kyoto).
On our second to last day in Kyoto we traveled to Arashi Mountain through the bamboo forest and experienced Japanese rain. It poured down on us so suddenly that we had to rush for cover. We quickly made our way to Tenryuji, a Buddhist Temple. From the inside our group of students and lots of tourists watched the rain pass by. It was so beautiful, everyone was mesmerized by the rain and time seemed to slow down.
On the last day we headed to Nishijin Textile and created our own handmade textiles. Later we visited Nijo Castle. When we had to leave our host families, it was very early in the day and we were all sad. Almost everyone cried.
After that, we went to Nara and saw Todaiji, the biggest Buddha in Japan. We had the very special opportunity of staying in a Buddhist temple for a night and attending a special Buddhist service.
After that, we went to Hiroshima and visited Itsukushima, the floating gate temple. In Hiroshima we were able to see the atomic bomb monument and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. We ended our stay with a lot of shopping in Tokyo. We had an amazing, unforgettable trip to Japan. I believe if you are committed to learning a unique language, Japanese is the best and you might even be able to travel to Japan!
Tiffany Yee can be contacted at [email protected]
