Pakuranga Intermediate Japan Trip 2024

All ākonga picked up and safely returned to their parents. 👍 Thank you to Karyn, Neville and Ting who did a fantastic job of caring for our students. They were on duty the whole time and always ready to help whatever student needed help in however needed.  Thanks also to Mrs Greenstreet who did all of the organisation and ran all the lunchtime workshops.  Enjoy the rest of the holidays. 👏

Our flight is slightly ahead of schedule with an ETA of 9:55am.  It will take us a bit of time to get through customs and immigration. 

Today was a more relaxed day. We started with a sleep-in and a late breakfast.  Once up and going we decided to walk to the mall, rather than taking the bus. This turned out to be a great idea as we walked through a street in Narita full of traditional shops and a stunning temple.  After visiting the mall is was buses and trains to pick up bags and head for the airport.  Once there we were farewelled by some friends Now we are trying to get some sleep on the plane, ready to meet our families.  See you soon. 

We have spent a hectic day on trains and buses today.  We took the express train to Tokyo, went up the Sky Tree; which is almost twice the height of the Sky Tower.  Then we took on and defeated Tokyo rush hour traffic to experience Shabuya crossing. As I write this we are on the Narita express heading to our final hotel for our last night in Japan.  Excited students after successfully cross Shabuya The Narita express Tokyo subway. When we got on it was empty. When we got off…not so much. 

Back on the train, heading for Tokyo Sky Tree.  We are experts now with snacks organised and seats turned  around to face friends. 

The  Nikko Toshogu Shrineis is over 1000 years old. So older than any building in New Zealand. By over 800 years. It is a massively popular spot for school tours and the were groups of students everywhere. No group photos allowed. So we took a photo of Hazel. By strange coincidence, everyone was standing behind her, to keep out of the way of other tourists.

Heading for the  Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Our students are flagging, not helped by a large breakfast. They are looking forward to the express train when many are planning to get some sleep. 👍 I'm really pleased with how they are looking after each other. It's easy to be grumpy when tired.

Kinugawa Royal Hotel is a traditional Japanese hotel.  We arrived pretty early after visiting Edi Wonderland, booked in, and chose our ukata and robes. Students look great wearing these around the hotel. After a short rest, we gathered for a traditional dinner. I was very impressed with the variety of food many of our students are now eating and the conduct in a big dinning room, where they were the only children.  I look forward to hearing how they slept in the traditional sleeping quarters. 

After a two-hour express train ride, we arrived at Kinugawa. The first thing we noticed was the absence of humidity at this higher altitude. It was still warm but felt much more like a warm autumn day in New Zealand.  After another short bus ride, we arrived at Edo Wonderland. A sprawling Japanese village made up of traditional Japanese districts.  The most fun was probably in the Ninja District, where we all watched a show depicting a traditional Ninja story. It was full of drama, acrobats and stunning fight scenes. No pictures were allowed.  We then wandered around the village and the students spent some of their money on souvinours.  Feeding the fish

On the go again this morning. Our ākonga enjoyed a more traditional breakfast including hash browns and sausages, although smoked fish and Japanese kai were also available.  After a bus and several train rides, we made it to  Asakusa Now we are on the express train heading for Kinugawa - Edo Wonderland for the Ninja and Samurai experience.

Disneyland was a huge day.  We left Sammu City at 8 am and arrived at the hotel at 10 pm after some adventures with the bus. It seemed half of the people at Disneylandwanted the same bus as us. However, after cramming aboard we made it safely to the hotel. Our kids were shattered. I walked 11 kilometres and know our students were much more active than me.  Disneyland was very busy and so hot that the Halloween parade was cancelled. We drank heaps and seeked shade as much as possible.  We managed to get together for the traditional ride down Splash Mountain and have the pictures to show it.  Then, we finished the day watching a spectacular light parade where all the traditional Disney characters were brought to life with a million lights.  This morning, we are ready to see some of Japan's traditional and historical elements. 

You meet the best people in cool places.  In line for Thunder mountain. 

Beware Disneyland  Pak Int have arrived. 

We start with a very hot morning. 7:30 and it is already 25 degrees C and very humid.  Students are excited as we prepare to travel to Disney land. Yes, we will drink lots of water and yes, the bus has great air con. 👍