Mount Roskill Grammar students in awe of awesome Japan
Over two weeks in September, a cohort of Japanese language students from Mount Roskill Grammar travelled to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto where they immersed themselves in the culture by living with local families, attending high school, and putting their language skills to the test. In this article, Mount Roskill Grammar's head boy, Ansh Trivedi, shares the group's adventures and reflects on what made the experience so unforgetable. The school was supported to travel to Japan by an Asia New Zealand Foundation Japan Study Grant, kindly funded by Nakashimato Co Ltd. of Japan.
The Mount Roskill students arrive at Narita Airport, Tokyo
For four years I had practically been begging Kojima Sensei to organise a Japan trip for our Japanese class. For many of us, it was one of the main reasons we wanted to take Japanese as a subject in the first place.
So, after many years of Covid delays, it felt like a dream come true when she finally confirmed it was happening. As head boy, and in my final year at high school, I was particularly thrilled.
Our journey began with a flight from Auckland to Narita Airport. First stop? Tokyo!
We spent the next two days in Japan’s buzzing capital, with a visit to Disney Sea top on our agenda.
Even with a 5:30am wake-up and an early queue in the rain, our excitement was unshakable! Fewer people meant shorter lines, so we got to hit way more rides than we were expecting.
We saw landmarks we’d only read about in our textbooks and wandered streets steeped with tradition and history.
Ansh Trivedi
Saturday brought us to Osaka, where we went straight to our sister school, Waseda Osaka High School, where we met our host families—people who would become like real family to us over the next ten days.
From day one, they welcomed us into their lives, and we quickly settled into our new routines, calling Osaka our home away from home.
Each day in Osaka brought something new and totally different from our usual routines back in New Zealand.
Days were packed with cultural excursions—Banpaku Park, the scenic Hozu River, Osaka Castle—and in the evenings, we lived the life of a typical Japanese family.
For a few days, we even got to attend school like regular students, where we experienced first-hand the differences between Japanese and Kiwi education.
Our lone Year 10 student quickly became the “fan favourite” at Waseda High School. He and I were travel buddies–the youngest and oldest pupils on the trip!
Singing Te Aroha to the students of Waseda High School
Midway through our stay, we went on a two-day trip to Kyoto, a city that felt like it stepped right out of a painting.
From Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple, to Teramachi Street, everything about Kyoto was awe-inspiring. We saw landmarks we’d only read about in our textbooks and wandered streets steeped with tradition and history.
Our final days at Waseda were filled with laughter, friendship, and a bit of Kiwi pride.
We played games, held a quiz, and watched in awe as the Waseda Osaka brass band performed an emotional rendition of our own New Zealand National Anthem.
Visiting Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple, was a class highlight
After about 10 days living life as a Japanese student in Osaka, we said regretful goodbyes to our host families (with more than a few tears), then took the Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo.
As a final gesture, our host families showered us with meaningful gifts like heirloom kimonos and heartfelt letters, ensuring we’d never forget them or our time in Japan.
With a grant from the Asia New Zealand Foundation, we were able to go on the Hozu River boat ride, indulge in Japanese cuisine and see places we would otherwise never have been able to.
We did so much aside from the scheduled sightseeing too. We had barbecues, went to karaoke and had takoyaki parties with host families.
" I'm sure we will never forget the wonderful experiences we had."
The other students and I had been looking forward to this trip for years, and it did not disappoint. We learnt so much about Japanese lifestyles, culture and language in just two short weeks.
Whether it was the people we met, the temple visits, navigating crowded public transport or relying entirely on convenience stores for sustenance, I’m sure the unforgettable memories we created will always stay with us.
And none of it would have been possible without the constant planning, supervision and support from Kojima Sensei and Mr. McAlpine. So thank you so much to both teachers for making this trip meet our great expectations.
The Foundation’s Japan Study Grants assist secondary school classes (Years 9 to 13) to travel to Japan for study tours. Japan study grants are kindly funded by Nakashimato Co Ltd. of Japan.
