JENESYS Trip

November 2019
Japan 🗾🇯🇵
  • 29footprints
  • 2countries
  • 9days
  • 155photos
  • 4videos
  • 20.3kkilometers
  • 9.4kkilometers
  • Day 3

    Nukui Springs

    November 14, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    After an hour long bus trip, which I kept dozing off on... We arrived at our hotel for the night. It was in the mountains and called Nukui Springs.

    I got paired up with Tessa for my room, which I was very happy about. Our rooms were so big and wonderful. In the cupboards they had kimono-like garments for you to wear when going to and from the Onsen, which they had as a part of the hotel!

    We had to practice our cultural performance for a while in preparation for the upcoming performances but after that, with the encouragement of Madeleine, a group of girls ventured to the Onsen.
    I was a bit timid and scared but because there were not many of us ,and we were in Japan, I decided to go for it.
    I was excited to the wear the 'kimono' and the facilties of the Onsen where really cool, so it didn't take long for me overcome my fears with excitement.

    I had to constantly look to Madeleine for guidance but the process was pretty simple and nice.
    The room where you first enter the Onsen was for dis-robing and where you put your belongings in a basket. They also had a wall lined with mirrors, basins and various facial care products.
    From there you venture into the washing and bathing area. Where two walls were lined with the showering stations.
    The showering stations included a stool, a small tub/bucket, body wash, shampoo, 'treatment', and the controls for the shower head and taps.
    We each washed up at our stations and then headed to the pools within the same room. They had two spa like pools of different temperatures and one cold pool. I thought the baths would be a bit deeper, regardless, their design and sizing was perfect.
    The ground was all at the same level so if you were sitting up right, you were doing so with your legs straight out in front of you.
    We brought the smaller towels from our room with us, which we wet with the cold water and put on our head to keep us from over heating. We also tried the sauna and outside bath but found them too hot and more stuffy than enjoyable.

    I found it to be a real bonding experience with the girls and very relaxing. After only a few minutes I stopped being so self conscious about my body and was able to enjoy the experience of the Onsen.
    Although I was there with a group of girls, I bonded with Madeleine and Tessa the most. I'm really glad for it, I really like them as people and get on with them so well.
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  • Day 4

    『かけ高校』『kake high school 』

    November 15, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    The building for Kake High School was very impressive. It had been recently rebuilt and was a place I wish I could've attended for my high school years.
    We had to take off our shoes and put on 'slippers' for walking around the school.
    We started off with a welcoming ceremony where several speeches were given by multiple people from both sides. The vice-principal gave an interesting speech, it included topics about sharing and exchanging culture but expanded beyond that, and got a little philosophical.
    He touched on topics about how we are weak in comparison to other animals in all ways except our brain. That we are the only 'animals' that are able to speak and communicate at the level we do. And as we have the skills for communication and relationship building, we should utilise them.

    We later had our exchange of cultural performances. It started with my group (New Zealand) performing our two songs; He Honore and Tutira Mai. I had been nominated by the group to be the Kaea, which I was really excited about and proud of. However, that also meant extra nerves!
    I think we did great though :) Everyone seemed to enjoy it and they even started clapping along.
    (Side note: the songs are so catchy and likeable, that the other members from Group 1A kept singing them throughout the rest of the trip haha)
    Fiji, the Marshall Islands and Samoa followed our performance, then Kake High School in return. I really loved their dance. The music and choreography was so cool, I wished I could be up on the stage with them, performing.
    To conclude, all members of Group 1A performed a Bon Odori. We had intended to invite a few people up from the audience to join in. We were worried that it would be hard to encourage enough students to turn up, however, they were so enthusiastic that the whole school ended up joining in!

    After the performances, we were split into groups with the students. We shared information and quizzed each other on our respective countries. During this time I was able to give each of the students a piece of paua shell, they seemed to like them, which made me really happy.

    Later we shared lunch which gave me a chance to converse with the students and use some Japanese. I had a lot of fun getting to know the students in their native language. Sharing with them the aspects of their culture that I liked, they were so excited to learn how much I knew, it made me really happy.

    Lastly, they had a few lunchtime games (similar to ones I grew up playing) which we were invited to join in. Though some were completely new, and I struggled with picking up the new words\lyrics\terminology they were using, I found it quite fun nonetheless :)

    We took a photo to commemorate our visit and said our goodbyes :')
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  • Day 4

    Homestay Family

    November 15, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Umeda Family ❤️

    Kimoko (from the Marshall Islands) and I were paired up with the Umeda Family. They were so lovely, inviting and eager to talk with us, despite the language barrier.

    Upon arriving to their home, I was slightly taken a back. It looked like the house from the film '8 year engagement' which I had watched a week before. It was a really nice place to stay, even though it was only a night. I got to experience a lot of furniture unique to Japan which I was pretty happy about.
    ° A futon - super comfy, I had a wonderful sleep.
    ° A genkan - it was a little bit of a hassle considering I was wearing docs, but I quite like the concept.
    ° A kotatsu: I'm in love. I knew I would love it but I'm glad I could experience it in person.

    Our homestay parents were very sweet and wanted to share a lot of their culture with us. We made oragami, helped out in their garden, watched some sumo, made traditional confectionery sweets and dinner.
    It was a lot of fun. It was quite cool how we were able to connect and do these activities without talking.
    I really enjoyed playing cards with them, they were fun and it was sweet to see how Mr and Mrs Umeda interacted. A thing that I noticed was that they called each other お母さん(mother) and お父さん(father). It surprised me, but I found it cool :)

    I did try my best to converse with them in Japanese. However, I was limited with my vocabulary and grammar, so I struggled a lot (especially due to the lack of WiFi to assist me). They had a device called a 'pockettalk' which worked as a translator for us, and although I was grateful for it, I often had to use it myself becaud eI wasnt proficient enough in Japanese. I felt so defeated. By the end of the day I was so exhausted and emotionally spent from it that I cried. (Made worse by the fact that I had no one to talk to.)
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  • Day 5

    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

    November 16, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We were provided with a tour guide for the park and I was glad for it. He was able to help us understand and respect the magnitude of what had taken place in Hiroshima.

    It's incredible to not only learn about Hiroshima but also see how far they've come since then. The land still showed signs of the aftermath. For example, the blast from the A-Bomb was so powerful that a samurai tomb was dismantled and became embedded in the ground. Its remarkable that despite the A-Bomb being dropped on Hiroshima and all the disastrous effects it brought, they were still able to rebuild a city.

    At the Park, I saw numerous times that Hiroshima was spelt using katakana. This is because, the use of ヒロシマ means 'Atomic Bomb City' . Whereas, the Kanji means 'Wide Island'.
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  • Day 5

    Sadako's Story

    November 16, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Sasaki Sadako is a famous story, one that is fascinating, yet heartbreaking.

    Sadako was exposed to radiation at the age of two when Hiroshima was bombed. A decade later, she was diagnosed with leukemia and died after an eight-month battle with the disease.
    Based on a traditional Japanese belief, Sadako thought that if she folded 1,000 origami cranes she would recover; she ultimately made more than 1,300, often using the paper wrappings from her medicine.
    When she died, her shocked elementary school classmates wanted to build a statue for all the children who died as a result of the atomic bombing, and schools around the country began raising money.
    On May 5, 1958 (Children’s Day), the statue was completed. Schoolchildren often bring folded cranes with them on trips to the monument today.
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  • Day 5

    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

    November 16, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum had many visitors. I was glad to see that. I think it's important that people know in detail the events that unfolded, the gravity of that kind of attack.

    It was a very heartwrenching museum.
    It's one thing to read or hear the facts of the Atomic Bomb and the events that transpired. But to stand in that museum, see the deformed building materials, the scorched clothing, read detailed recounts of the events, have it depicted through painting and photographs, read the last words of children.
    It was a very somber experience.
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  • Day 6

    Hananomai Edohaku

    November 17, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We visited for lunch here before heading to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. The lunch was nice, though not the best on the trip. However I really liked the decor...
    They had a actual Sumo Ring. And customers were welcome to enter it, and even fight if they so wished! Though, provided they were men 🙄 Tradition and what not... But I really wish I could've given it a go :/Read more

  • Day 6

    Edo-Tokyo Museum

    November 17, 2019 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Edo-Tokyo was another large museum that we only scraped the surface of. There was so much to see and learn, but so little time.

    Two things I really loved about this museum was the amount of interactive exhibits it had and the miniatures.
    The interactive works were life-size recreations from throughout history. The were fun to see and touch.
    The museum was full of miniatures, none of which I could capture a photo of very well but they were amazing to look at, and I have my memories at least haha :)
    Their detailing was incredible, I loved viewing them from all angles. The museum also had binoculars you could view them with which was a nice touch.
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