In September/October of this year, I and a handful of other Senior School students had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Japan for the Japan Cultural Trip. This was the first time the trip has occurred in six years, since before the 2020 Covid pandemic. The trip included a three-day stay in the city of Hiroshima, a school-week experience as a student in Kumamoto Marist High School, and finally a three day stay in Osaka with a daytrip to Kyoto.

While in Japan, the team had the opportunity to explore the magnificent and culturally significant sites of Japan – including various castles in Hiroshima, Kumamoto Osaka and Kyoto, the Golden Temple in Osaka, the Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima Island, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park & Museum, and the Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima. We experienced the bustling city life in Hiroshima and Osaka and learned about the various public transport systems in Japan, including the Shinkansen, the famous bullet trains of Japan. Overall the trip was the perfect mix of sightseeing activities, rest and replenishment, and, as our families can attest, we had just enough shopping time.

Most importantly, however, was the 5-day long stay at Kumamoto Marist High School, our sister school for over 20 years. Here we were fully immersed in the culture of Japan by living in the school dorms with Japanese students, participating in school classes with our buddies, and engaging in other activities such as calligraphy and tea ceremonies. This stay at Kumamoto Marist proved to be the most exciting and challenging part of the trip. We developed strong friendships with our Japanese buddies in such a short time and new experiences that we engaged in made it unforgettable, and worth every second. It was quite a challenge for us and for our buddies when it came time for us to leave. But we resolved to keep in touch and we were encouraged that they are now planning to send a group to PAC in 2025.

Personally, this trip altogether has been the best and most significant experience of my life to date. The team and I would like to extend our most sincere and appreciative thanks to Mr Kobus, Mrs Boulden, Mrs Grima, Mr Thurlow and Ms Oakley, for the unwavering care and enthusiasm on this trip. We would also like to thank our friends at Kumamoto Marist for their amazing hospitality and for the opportunity to make forever friends within their community. And, above all, we would love to thank Mr Moses Fonua for his expertise, humour and reliability as a tour guide through, what for us, were crazy and unfamiliar surroundings.

I am looking forward to Kumamoto Marist’s visit next year, and if you are considering the Japan Cultural Trip in the future I would one-hundred-percent recommend it to anyone – you will have the experience of a lifetime and you will not regret it.

- Colby C (Year 11)