In 2013, we got the opportunity to go to Japan! It was something we had all been dreaming about since we started learning Japanese. After all, what better way to practise a language you were so passionate about? By going to Japan, we were able to learn a lot about the Japanese culture which benefited us greatly.
Here is what we did over the 6 days...
Here is what we did over the 6 days...
Day 1 - The Greenford High School trip to Japan has started well, with all students and teachers arrived safely.
We spent the first day at Sensoji Temple and visiting the Tokyo Skytree, with beautiful views of the city from 600 m.
Everywhere we go we are greeted by Japanese people keen to speak with us so the students are practising their Japanese, including being interviewed by a film crew as we arrived at Narita Airport!
Day 2 - Greenford High School students enjoyed a visit to two nursery schools today, with a visit to a fire station in Fukaya with the 4 - 5 year old children, as November is the month when Japanese children learn about different jobs. We were hosted by Mr Goto, whose son visited GHS in the summer with Teikyo School UK, and he loved the performances of the GHS students so much he encouraged his father to host us in return!
Mr Goto is a Buddhist priest as well as being Vice Principal at the nursery school, so after a traditional Japanese Lunch we spent time in zazen meditation at the temple led by the five year olds.
Our students sang and played the saxophone and then played with the nursery children at their school. Then we were entertained at a celebration party in a very grand hotel nearby. Thank you to Mr Goto and his colleagues and family for an unforgettable day
Day 3 - Today we visited Morimura, our partner secondary school in Japan and the students met their pen-friends. After a delicious lunch in the school canteen, with options from fried chicken to seaweed soup with udon noodles, the students spent time in workshops with students their own age. One group were taught how to serve tea in the school's tea ceremony room by students who are in tea club. Another group learnt musical instruments, taught by students, and can now play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the clarinet very well indeed. One group learnt Soran, Japanese dancing, and performed it to us all at the end of the day, and the final group joined Morimura School's very own Glee Club, fresh from their recent performance of The Little Mermaid. They joined in a performance of Under The Sea with incredibly complicated dance routines that our students had to master for a final performance on the school stage.
It was a wonderful day, and we had to drag the students away from their new Japanese friends, who we hope to welcome back to London soon.
Day 4 - Today we visited Kamakura, ancient palace of the Shogun, now a Buddhist temple. It was 7 - 5 - 3 day, a celebration for girls aged 7 or 3,who were dressed up for the occasion in kimonos, and boys aged 5, who were dressed as samurai or in smart western suits.
At lunchtime, shopping in the traditional shops in Kamakura, we met up with Lawson, Miss Middleton's former student from GHS, who is on a year out from Oxford University to study at Kobe University. His Japanese was so good in his initial assessment that he is studying Economics in Japan, in lectures with native Japanese speakers. The lectures are 1h 30 minutes long, and there are no lecture notes provided, so he has to write his lecture notes really fast in Japanese.
We went together to see the giant Buddha, one of the biggest in Japan.
Day 5 - Students had to teach Year 3 children today, which they did with their usual confidence in English and Japanese. The hokey cokey was probably a mistake; but "London Bridge is Falling Down", "Simon Says", and "Ring a Ring a Roses" went well. We got to meet Miss Middleton's niece and nephew too, as it was their primary school we visited. Their 50 strong Year 7 band playing "Mission Impossible" and "We Will Rock You" welcomed us to one of their final rehearsals before they compete in a Music Festival next week.
After lunch on Tokyo's version of Carnaby Street - Takeshita Street, we were privileged to visit Miss Middleton's cousin at Docomo, a Japanese technology company. We visited their Future Lab and their showroom, and saw technology in use since 2007 which uses people's mobile phones to send emergency messages to everyone in an area, for example in an earthquake. Normally in a disaster the mobile network goes down, but this uses alternative signals to get vital information out to everyone. It was used to save 1,000s of lives during the Great East Japan Tsunami in 2011. We also saw technology we may be using in 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics: tablets you control by moving your eyes, and tables to host virtual conferences with such realistic 3D technology that students were reaching out to feel the kimono they had designed (using a pattern made of a fish they plucked from a virtual pool and a virtual tree whose branches they'd carefully arranged.)
For dinner the group enjoyed a traditional Japanese meal which we cooked on hot plates on the tables in front of us, joined by the Japanese Languages Assistant who had taught several students and inspired them to continue learning Japanese.
Day 6 - On our last day in Japan we visited Keio University, where Miss Middleton studied. The university was founded by the Meiji era philosopher Fukuzawa Yukichi, who the students recognised from the 10,000 Yen note. Our students were all inspired to return one day to study in Japan – from Engineering and technology to Manga graphics!
Then we visited Future City, where the teachers resisted the temptation to test drive Toyota cars for 300 Yen (about £2), and instead we all bought presents for friends and family back home, from Wasabe flavoured kitkats to “Victory” bandanas (which bring students exam success) for Mr Bush, Miss Nicolls and Mr Kochhar to award to top Y11 Study Club students.
We took a boat back to Asakusa as the sun set: “It’s like a dream,” said one student. Then a traditional Karaoke session to round off the week, complete with glittering performance booth that only a couple of students were brave enough to perform in! (You can guess who…) What a fantastic week, and for all of us this is only one link in the chain of a lifelong connection with the beautiful and inspirational country Japan.
- Ms Enright (Deputy Headteacher of GHS) and Ruth
We spent the first day at Sensoji Temple and visiting the Tokyo Skytree, with beautiful views of the city from 600 m.
Everywhere we go we are greeted by Japanese people keen to speak with us so the students are practising their Japanese, including being interviewed by a film crew as we arrived at Narita Airport!
Day 2 - Greenford High School students enjoyed a visit to two nursery schools today, with a visit to a fire station in Fukaya with the 4 - 5 year old children, as November is the month when Japanese children learn about different jobs. We were hosted by Mr Goto, whose son visited GHS in the summer with Teikyo School UK, and he loved the performances of the GHS students so much he encouraged his father to host us in return!
Mr Goto is a Buddhist priest as well as being Vice Principal at the nursery school, so after a traditional Japanese Lunch we spent time in zazen meditation at the temple led by the five year olds.
Our students sang and played the saxophone and then played with the nursery children at their school. Then we were entertained at a celebration party in a very grand hotel nearby. Thank you to Mr Goto and his colleagues and family for an unforgettable day
Day 3 - Today we visited Morimura, our partner secondary school in Japan and the students met their pen-friends. After a delicious lunch in the school canteen, with options from fried chicken to seaweed soup with udon noodles, the students spent time in workshops with students their own age. One group were taught how to serve tea in the school's tea ceremony room by students who are in tea club. Another group learnt musical instruments, taught by students, and can now play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the clarinet very well indeed. One group learnt Soran, Japanese dancing, and performed it to us all at the end of the day, and the final group joined Morimura School's very own Glee Club, fresh from their recent performance of The Little Mermaid. They joined in a performance of Under The Sea with incredibly complicated dance routines that our students had to master for a final performance on the school stage.
It was a wonderful day, and we had to drag the students away from their new Japanese friends, who we hope to welcome back to London soon.
Day 4 - Today we visited Kamakura, ancient palace of the Shogun, now a Buddhist temple. It was 7 - 5 - 3 day, a celebration for girls aged 7 or 3,who were dressed up for the occasion in kimonos, and boys aged 5, who were dressed as samurai or in smart western suits.
At lunchtime, shopping in the traditional shops in Kamakura, we met up with Lawson, Miss Middleton's former student from GHS, who is on a year out from Oxford University to study at Kobe University. His Japanese was so good in his initial assessment that he is studying Economics in Japan, in lectures with native Japanese speakers. The lectures are 1h 30 minutes long, and there are no lecture notes provided, so he has to write his lecture notes really fast in Japanese.
We went together to see the giant Buddha, one of the biggest in Japan.
Day 5 - Students had to teach Year 3 children today, which they did with their usual confidence in English and Japanese. The hokey cokey was probably a mistake; but "London Bridge is Falling Down", "Simon Says", and "Ring a Ring a Roses" went well. We got to meet Miss Middleton's niece and nephew too, as it was their primary school we visited. Their 50 strong Year 7 band playing "Mission Impossible" and "We Will Rock You" welcomed us to one of their final rehearsals before they compete in a Music Festival next week.
After lunch on Tokyo's version of Carnaby Street - Takeshita Street, we were privileged to visit Miss Middleton's cousin at Docomo, a Japanese technology company. We visited their Future Lab and their showroom, and saw technology in use since 2007 which uses people's mobile phones to send emergency messages to everyone in an area, for example in an earthquake. Normally in a disaster the mobile network goes down, but this uses alternative signals to get vital information out to everyone. It was used to save 1,000s of lives during the Great East Japan Tsunami in 2011. We also saw technology we may be using in 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics: tablets you control by moving your eyes, and tables to host virtual conferences with such realistic 3D technology that students were reaching out to feel the kimono they had designed (using a pattern made of a fish they plucked from a virtual pool and a virtual tree whose branches they'd carefully arranged.)
For dinner the group enjoyed a traditional Japanese meal which we cooked on hot plates on the tables in front of us, joined by the Japanese Languages Assistant who had taught several students and inspired them to continue learning Japanese.
Day 6 - On our last day in Japan we visited Keio University, where Miss Middleton studied. The university was founded by the Meiji era philosopher Fukuzawa Yukichi, who the students recognised from the 10,000 Yen note. Our students were all inspired to return one day to study in Japan – from Engineering and technology to Manga graphics!
Then we visited Future City, where the teachers resisted the temptation to test drive Toyota cars for 300 Yen (about £2), and instead we all bought presents for friends and family back home, from Wasabe flavoured kitkats to “Victory” bandanas (which bring students exam success) for Mr Bush, Miss Nicolls and Mr Kochhar to award to top Y11 Study Club students.
We took a boat back to Asakusa as the sun set: “It’s like a dream,” said one student. Then a traditional Karaoke session to round off the week, complete with glittering performance booth that only a couple of students were brave enough to perform in! (You can guess who…) What a fantastic week, and for all of us this is only one link in the chain of a lifelong connection with the beautiful and inspirational country Japan.
- Ms Enright (Deputy Headteacher of GHS) and Ruth