2018 HNHS School Magazine HNHS Magazine 2018 | Page 29

Japanese culture is peppered with symbols that illustrate
cultural ideas of importance. The two-week visit to Japan
that 16 students from Years 11-13, Mr Lowry and Ms Jones
undertook can be signposted by these special motifs.
arrived at Hiroshima that evening and braved the high winds
and heavy rain for dinner. The visit to Hiroshima Peace Park
was poignant and here we gained a true understanding of
the horror of the nuclear bomb, the resilience of the people,
and the new life that emerged post WW2. For our own
journey, most people’s spirits lifted the next morning with
the sunshine and the outing to Miyajima Island. The temple
and deer captivated us and helped dispel the sombre mood
of the day before.
Like the rising sun, our adventure started early on Saturday
22nd September as we departed Napier. Our auspicious start
was soon slowed down by two delays in Auckland and Hong
Kong, and it was a tired and bedraggled group that arrived
in Osaka. However, fatigue was soon forgotten with our first
foray into city life and the students embraced the new food
and the shopping with gusto.
Finally, Tokyo, and we were like the Daruma doll; 12
months earlier we had set a goal to visit Japan, and now in
the capital, the goal was completed, and both eyes opened
by the overwhelming contrast of past meeting present. We
witnessed a wedding procession at the Meiji shrine and
the diversity and outrageousness of teen pop culture at the
Harajuku shopping street. An outing to Disneyland Tokyo
was almost overwhelming with the theatrics and rides
on offer, and many a student returned to the hotel with a
bag load of stuffed toys. We navigated the sprawling train
stations and people watched at Shibuya, the world’s busiest
pedestrian crossing. With seemingly bottomless purses we
spent even more money at Akihabara, Electric Town. Our
final night we all had dinner together sampling takoyaki,
tamogoyaki, ebi and black sesame ice-cream.
The next day was Tom’s birthday and we headed off to Osaka
Castle. It was impressive in its scale and story. Shopping
was again high on the to do list and the night was spent in an
impressive food court celebrating Tom’s birthday with some
cake and gifts.
The lotus represents living life to your fullest and we carried
that out at Universal Studios with an epic day spent on rides,
drinking Butterbeer at Hogwarts castle (indescribably good),
running away from zombies and eating box loads of Pocky.
We made our way by train to Kyoto, famous for its shrines
and temples and like the koi of Japanese mythology we
travelled long and high to reach the beautiful and serene
World Heritage sites of the ‘Pure Water Temple’ and the
‘Silver Pavilion’. It was also a highlight that we managed to
fit into an eatery together for dinner (a feat that would prove
difficult on most occasions), and a spontaneous wasabi
challenge was held.
The Japanese cherry blossom is a fragile and fleeting beauty,
and our two-week journey has bloomed and wilted away.
But we will not forget the new experiences and sights we
have seen, the bonds of comradery that comes from the
challenges of travel and the memories we have created. We
would like to thank all the parents, the people that supported
our fundraising efforts, Ms Jones for being our camp
mother and finally, and most importantly, Lowry-sensei
for his exuberance, his passion for Japan, his humour, his
organisation, and for making this trip possible.
The chrysanthemum symbolises endurance and rejuvenation,
and we needed this for the day we spent at Himeji where
we were caught in the typhoon. We battled our way up to
Himeji castle and back down to face the Shinkansen. We
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HNHS IN JAPAN