Day 14 – Thursday 28 September

A Week of Constant Care and Family Ties: Farewell to Our Sister School and hello Fuji San!

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An early departure this morning as we bid farewell to our newfound friends at the sister school. A week of cultural immersion has woven bonds of friendship, transforming strangers into a new family.

Challenges were met head-on, forging deeper connections. Tears and emotions flowed freely, evidence of the profound impact of this shared experience.

NOT GOODBYE JUST…. MATTA NE!

As we hit the highway leaving the green countryside of Gifu prefecture behind and traveling down to Shizuoka after about 2 hours of driving…

Suddenly, the iconic silhouette of Mt. Fuji emerged, a silent witness to our journey. It marked the beginning of our exploration of enchanting Hakone.

HAKONE SEKISHO

We delved into the rich history at the Hakone Checkpoint learning a little more about the Tokugawa Shokunate’s control over the movement of samurai, goods, arms and women (that’s a whole chapter in history…)

Riding the Pirate ship around Lake Ashi to the Hakone Open Air Museum for a buffet lunch followed by some time in the beautiful Open Air Art Museum against the backdrop of nature’s lush greenery.

CRUISING LAKE ASHI

HAKONE OPEN AIR MUSEUM

Our students viewed some very famous sculptures; pieces by Picasso, Rodan, Moore. Wandering through some interactive art installations had many students wishing they were young enough to climb or play on the art pieces that only up to 12years could.

ROPE WAY TO OWAKUDANI & BLACK EGGS

For our afternoon we caught the rope way and marveled at the volcanic wonders of Owakudani; and the amazingly strong smell of “eggs”, well sulfur!

The students also tired the hot spring boiled eggs… with the shell turned black by the natural minerals in the water.

A thrilling second ride (because a few of us do not really enjoy heights) on the Rope way revealed breathtaking vistas over the surrounding lakes as we travelled back to our coach for the drive to our beautiful hotel past pampas grass fields hiking paths.

As we arrived at the Gotba Rembrandt Hotel, the lobby’s window framed Mt. Fuji in all its splendor. The promise of an amazing gourmet dinner awaited us. Crab pasta, succulent roasted beef, and exquisite entrées were presented for our palates, culminating in a cute panna cotta dessert. And your children enjoyed the amazing full dinner service and showed such outstanding manners.

Beautiful Hotel-

Our rooms were nothing short of beautiful, providing a sanctuary of comfort and Japanese tranquility. The rooms are a modern style of traditional washitsu; with tatami and wooden screens. Students are sleeping on Futons tonight!

The onsen, sourced from the pristine spring waters of Mt. Fuji, offered a rejuvenating soak under a starlit sky for those who tried the various baths. Said to be very good for one’s skin and joints. (Great for some of our weary muscles).

This week has been a tapestry of shared moments, woven with threads of culture, friendship, and discovery.

JOE 2023 how far we have come…

As is a tradition of JOE, the last night before returning to busy Tokyo a reflection circle of all team members was held where students and staff are asked to reflect and discuss what were their personal experiences, growth challenges and what had they learnt about themselves; their answers are always amazing; making friends with people I never really tired to know; learning to miss my family but be here and enjoy the moment; learning how to communicate by using one new word each day; worried about staying with a host family but now realizing that was the best part; being brave enough to get on a plane without my family; pushing through each challenge, the walking, even the heat and even when it was hard and now knowing that I can do this!

Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the memories we’ve made and I’m blessed by the support and care of the other leaders who have left their families to come on this adventure; Mrs Beckwith, Mr Connolly, Mrs Burgin, Mr Hannah, Miss Boch and Mr Walker they all have made this task manageable and I must say a lot of fun!

Tomorrow, Tokyo beckons with adventures at Disneysea. The excitement is palpable, as we look forward to late-night revelry after the fireworks display; please note that tomorrow’s post will be late and possibly a little sparse in content as your children will be screaming, laughing and enjoying all the rides and sights around Disneysea and I’m not one who really enjoys that anymore! But all the leaders will be there with them…. And few will also be screaming, laughing and enjoying all the rides as well!

Watch out Tokyo here we come’

Oyasuminasai