Hiroshima HITPxSP 2016

Photo EssayDone by: Erlly

Day 1 - Getting settled The neighbourhood I was staying in was

called Kusatsu. It is a very quiet yet

warm neighbourhood. When I first

stepped into the house, I did a short

jikoshokai (self-introduction) and the

family welcomed me with a huge feast

and a house tour after.

The family consists of 3 people; grandma,

mother, and Chiaki (daughter).

Chiaki’s older brother and uncle came to

see me. We exchanged omiyages and I

shared a little about Singapore.

The 2 train tracks was just in front of my

room.

Living room and tatami

My room

Played Japanese

board games

with Chiaki-chan

and her cousins

Obaachan (grandma) asked me what I

like to eat and I said osashimi! Ever

since then, she prepared sashimi for

every single meal! I love her so much!

In the house, obaachan takes care of

the house chores and meals.

When it was bath time, okaasan asked me

if I want to shower or use the ofuro

(bathtub) and I said ofuro because I

wanted to experience Japanese style of

bathing.

Homestay food!

Every morning I had to travel to the training center myself and one thing

I noticed is that the people there not only clean their own house, they

go to such extent as to clean the walking path outside their house.

This really shows how much they love the cleanliness of their own

country.

Recycling is the norm in Japan

Day 2 - Judo

It was my first time trying out Judo

and it was so fun! I was quite

intimidated at first after they

showed their Judo promotional

video but all went well when I

arrived at the Judo gym.

The Judo boys are really disciplined

and listens to their coach well.

Although they did not know how

to speak English, they kept

encouraging us by saying “good,

good”.

Day 3 - Miyajima Island

Met up with my homestay buddy I hosted in

Singapore, Haruki-chan! She brought me

around Miyajima Island and recommended

me foods to try. She told me momiji

manjyu is famous in Miyajima but the fried

momiji manjyu tastes even better. Me and

Haruki-chan have similar taste-buds and

personality so both of us went for fried

anko momiji manjyu. There were savoury

ones such as mentaiko as well.

Itsukushima shrine

Samurai

Torii gate

Momiji (Maple

leaves)

I saw the world’s biggest rice scoop! It was

massive! In Miyajima Island, they sell rice

scoop, rice scoop lucky charm, rice scoop

sweets - everything rice scoop basically.

We walked to Itsukushima Shrine and my friends

said when you go to a shrine, you have to get

omamori! There were different omamoris for

different purposes, I got the good in studies

(gpa 4.0 pls) and good health.

Standing majestically in front of the shrine is the

famous Torii gate. It felt so surreal it looked as if

it is floating in the waters.

For lunch, I had kaki udon (oyster udon), another

famous delicacy in Miyajima Island is the

oysters. They are so fresh and juicy!

After lunch, we bought omiyages and got chased

by deers. There were lots of tourists there and

some of them just irresponsibly throw their trash

on the floor and when the deers come, they

swallowed the plastic and even ate papers.

Japan does not have many rubbish bins so as a

tourist visiting Japan, we should be prepared

and bring a plastic bag for our trash and trash it

when we see a proper rubbish bin. Our

irresponsible actions may cause detrimental

consequences such as the example I just

stated.

Day 4 - Peace Memorial Park

As a History student, I’ve learnt about the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima. For me to

actually see the artefacts myself brought me to tears. Many thoughts were running in

my mind when I was there.

One lesson I’ve learnt is that we should learn from such disasters and never repeat it. It’s

not about pointing fingers at who is at fault but learning from the consequences of one’s

choice.

Many monuments has been built as a promise to never repeat this epidemic ever

again. One monument that I really liked was the Flame of Peace. Flame of Peace

that will be extinguished only when all nuclear weapons are removed from the

world.

I feel that Japan has set a good example of how they handled this and we should all

learn from them.

Day 5 - Mishima Foods & Nagisa Koen Junior

Mishima Foods Factory tour was an

eye opening experience. I never

knew so much effort was put into

producing furikake. It was multiple

steps process and huge respect to

the workers there. They had to be

dressed in stuffy work clothes and

some of them even had to work in

hot conditions. The next time I eat

furikake, I will remember the hard

work put into it and not waste food

too.

In Nagisa koen Junior, we get to practice our Japanese and the students of

Nagisa koen get to practice their English.

We played traditional Japanese games and tried Japanese snacks. It was a

short yet meaningful exchange.

Day 6 - Yachiyo facilities & HSA

Woodworking class and pizza making at Yachiyo

facilities up in the mountain. The weather is so

cooling and we got to eat the pizzas we made.

Afterwards, we went to Hiroshima

Shinkin Bank. I was so

nervous to receive the foreign

language award because the

atmosphere was so serious. I

would like to extend this

award to my Japanese

Language teachers; Allen

sensei and Fujita sensei for

nurturing me and sharing

more about the Japanese

culture. Without them, this trip

would not be possible.

Day 7 - Ishida Asaki School of Fashion

The students put up a mini fashion show for us and every outfit has a story

behind it. We were in awe at every outfit presented.

I got to try on this kimono which is displayed in the museum. It was harder to put

on than I thought. Three teachers had to help me put on the kimono. I felt like

a princess that day.

We mingled around with the students and I asked one of the student why she

chose to enter this school and she told me she loves making dresses. She

showed me all the wedding dresses she made and she is currently working

on her very own wedding dress for her wedding next year. I’m so happy for

her and she told me she would send her wedding pics to me! Can’t wait!

Day 8 - Japanese Calligraphy

Japanese calligraphy is also known as Shodo. It

is very therapeutic and calming.

We get to choose different kanjis such as yume,

ai, bunhua. I chose yume and ai to practice.

After few practices, we got to calligraph on a legit

board and got the calligraphy sensei’s stamp.

I gifted two of my work to my host

family and they immediately hung

up on the living room wall. I told

them it was not worth to be hung

up on the wall but they kept

complimenting my handwriting. I

felt really happy! :)

Day 9 - Volunteer at IGL nursing home & Yukata &

Rice-cake makingThe nursing home we volunteered at looked like a hotel and gave off a really cosy family feel. We

learnt that they have to pay 10% and the rest is government subsidised, different from

Singapore’s system.

Inside the nursing home, there were futuristic bathtubs that meets the patients needs

We played and performed for the elderly. It was a short performance but they really loved it and it

brought smiles to everyone.

We got to try on the yukata which is a summer wear and is much simpler to put

on compared to the kimono.

There are two different types of obis; the ready made bow and the ones you

have to diy. The sandals that is worn with the yukata is called the geta.

Next up is rice-cake making. I’ve always thought rice-cake was made from flour and water, I was wrong.

Rice-cake is made from pounding on sticky rice.

It takes a lot of strength and chemistry with your partner to pound on the rice-cake. One wrong timing

and your partner would end up in the hospital.

A teacher actually made the azuki bean paste the night before so that we could pair the rice-cake with

the paste.

Team Blue Swag Mochi

Day 10 - Day out with homestay family

Chiaki-chan’s uncle and family

brought me to see Iwakuni

castle and Hiroshima castle.

They called me shiro mania

because I really really love

looking at castles. Japanese

castles are so komakai

(detailed) and beautiful I can

stare at it all day long.

When visiting the Iwakuni castle, I

got to cross the famous Kintai

Bridge!

Hiroshima Castle

Iwakuni castleRopeway to the castle. View from

the top

Kintaikyo (Kintai Bridge)

After all those hiking,

uncle drove to another

prefecture called

Yamaguchi to eat at

this famous restaurant!

They ordered so much

food for me I thought it

was food for the king!

Hiroshima’s no.1 baseball team is Carp. Carp is also the

pride and joy of Hiroshima. I told my host family I want

to buy Carp merchandise as memorial so they brought

me to a Carp department store.

Everything in the department store is Carp-fied. They

even sell Carp bento. I love how Hiroshima supports

their baseball team so much.

The rest of the day was filled with shopping, eating and

shopping again.

Day 11 - Farewell :’(

It was really hard bidding farewell to my host family...I spent 10 days with them

but it felt like 1 day. It was too short and I miss them every single day.

Obaachan cried when she hugged me goodbye but I promise her I will visit her

someday again. Okaasan told obaachan now she has 2 granddaughters and

we all laughed.

Chiaki-chan became my little sister I treasure a lot. We took purikura almost

everyday and talked till late at night. She told me she wants to come to

Singapore. I will be waiting for her. Till then, I wish Chiaki-chan & family the

best of health and always be happy :’(

<-DRAMATIC

FAREWELL->

The end