During the July school holidays, a group of senior Te Reo Māori students travelled to Japan for a 10 day visit. We went to Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Osaka. Some of the highlights of the trip included visiting Hiroshima Atomic Dome, Miyajima Island, Kyoto Seika University, Universal Studios, and Shibaura High School.

There was an opportunity for students to experience staying at a Japanese home with a student from our sister city school, Shibaura High School. It was a great cultural and linguistic experience for the students. They learnt some Japanese language prior to their visit and mastered some of the basic greetings and commands.

The students were impressed with the quality of the food, the politeness of the people, and the quickness of the bullet train. It was an incredible experience for all of them and the hope is that they return to Japan in the future.

I would like to thank those who supported our journey while in Japan. I also appreciated the support of Talita Toomata from New Lynn House of Travel and Whaea Materoa Moses for accompanying our students to Japan.