Tauhara College students return to Japan

Tauhara College students visited a host of Japanese landmarks, such as the historic Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Tauhara College students are fast approaching the end of the school year, and for one group it’s been a big one.

That’s because students have been able to go on the school’s popular Japan trip for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic forced digital-only “online exchanges”.

Many students had been excited about the trip for years, said Year 13 student and 2023 Tauhara College head boy Steven Nuth.

“Excitement was an understatement, to say the least; we were buzzing on the car ride up to Auckland Airport, the plane trip to Tokyo and the bullet-train rides to Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima.”

The group of 16 students and six adults spent the 10-day trip visiting cities and sites around Japan, including Tokyo, Mount Fuji, and Tauhara’s sister school in Osaka.

The latter had the students, who were in Year 12 and 13, visit Kindai High School, having maintained links with the students there online during the pandemic years.

Tauhara students got a taste of authentically Japanese life, spending a few nights on a homestay with school families.

This experience was among the many highlights, said Year 13 student and 2023 deputy head boy Chris Curtis.

“Speaking Japanese with my host family, befriending new people and meeting old friends again after several months really hammered home why I study this language, and I hope one day that I can return and be just as blown away as before.”

Going to school with the host families’ children helped students see the difference between Japanese and Kiwi school days, said Curtis.

“There’s a lot more clubs; tea ceremonies, martial arts ... they had judo and they were really good.”

Even the transport between cities was interesting, said Year 12 student and deputy head girl for 2024, Faith Maynard.

The group took shinkansen, or bullet trains, which travel at speeds of up to 300km/h.

“Even though the train was going really fast, you can’t feel it.”

She said a trip to DisneySea was also a much-anticipated day out for many students, and it didn’t disappoint.

“It was so much fun, we went on so many attractions and saw the parade.”

Other highlights included a karaoke session, with Maynard even trying her hand at a Japanese song, and a visit to the 1500-year-old Itsukushima Shrine in southwest Japan.

Tauhara College Japanese-language teacher Setsuko Sawada said the trip was valuable for all the students, both to expand their horizons and practise important real-world language skills.

“It’s a real experience and [the students] come away more open-minded.

“It’s very rewarding.”

Nuth said the students were grateful to the adults who facilitated the trip, which would be remembered for a lifetime.

“As a Year 13, it’s a really good way to end your school life — it’s such a good memory.”

Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. She joined the Taupō & Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.

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