Fukuoka + Overall Trip Reflection Video || Emily and Ella
Hello everyone it’s Emily & Ella π!! We will be sharing our last day in Fukuoka and a video we made to capture all of our special moments we experienced together throughout our trip to Japan. For our last day in Japan please read below and we hope you enjoy the video of the overall Japan trip ;)
To start our day, we got to go to the lobby to eat breakfast. After breakfast, we finished packing the rest of our belongings to check out of the hotel by 10 am. A few of us met the group at the restaurant as we were sick and had to get checked on by awesome chaperones. We left all of our belongings at the hotel lobby and made our way to lunch. The group ate a very filling lunch at Hakata Hanamidori Hakata Station Store restaurant. It was our very last day in both Fukuoka and Japan. At Hakata Hanamidori restaurant we enjoyed many different dishes. Here we enjoyed a lot of talking and our last moments together as this was going to be the last lunch of our trip. Almost towards the end of our meal, we had to say goodbye to both of our amazing chaperones, Carol and Chey. After lunch, we walked to the Shinkansen station to go shopping.
As we finished doing our shopping at the Shinkansen Station, we walked back to the hotel to get all our luggage from the lobby. This was when we boarded our bus to head to a very early dinner (around 3pm). For our last meal in Japan, we went to a restaurant to eat Yakiniku. Sitting in groups at the tables, we cooked our food like at a BBQ. With each table having their conversations and laughing our final moments away before heading to the airport, we enjoyed meat, sausages, and other foods that we ordered. Enjoying our food and slowly finishing, we surprised someone for their birthday!!
As our last dinner was coming to an end, we got to wish and celebrate Luke’s birthday!! Preparing the cake and putting a candle on top, we started to sing Happy Birthday to Luke. As well as surprising him with a birthday cake, and a gift with each one of our little notes to him in a book we wished him a Happy Birthday π.
After dinner, we boarded the bus to head towards the airport. Getting to the airport we stood in line for a while to get all our bags checked in. We ensured everyone was okay and feeling good before our flight. Getting past bag check-in and security, we quickly went to get last-minute food and drinks to bring onto our flight. It was a full flight and we were all bonding before splitting ways in Hawai’i.
As a group of 20 students and our awesome chaperones, the Japan trip was an amazing experience for everyone. All of us were tasked to describe the trip in one word and this collage shows what a great time we had.
After our long 8-hour flight from Fukuoka to Hawai’i, we went through customs. The group then made its way towards baggage claim. We waited for a while just to get our bags… after finally claiming all our luggage we walked towards the doors to get out of the airport. As most of us were waiting for our parents to come to get us, everyone was saying their final goodbyes, hugging each other, and taking pictures. This was also the last group photo we took as a group.
Overall Trip Reflection + Recap Video
This study tour to Japan was very FUN and AMAZING! The 20 students that went to Japan, went from getting to know each other at the three-day orientation to getting to bond over many different things and becoming a family to one another.
How we grew from this experience is that we got to learn more about Japan and the culture. Not only were we going to the different prefectures but we were also learning the daily life of a Japanese citizen with our host families, experiencing how the education system is, and the relations between Japan and the U.S. Reflecting back, we realized how sonder the world is, where each person lives a life as complex and vivid as our own. A weird yet comforting feeling knowing that somehow all our problems seem to fade away and nothing truly matters to the point where we feel at peace. Japan has impacted our perspective on the world and taught us so many life lessons which we brought back into our everyday lives in Hawaii. We can’t express how grateful we are to learn about so much in such a short time because that time has had us reflect on the past, live in the present, and look forward to the future.
We made a video that captures all the special moments in Japan that we experienced as a group. And although it doesn’t show all parts of the trip, those memories will forever be cherished in our hearts. So thank you to all the chaperones, coordinators, The Freeman Foundation, and our parents for making this once in a lifetime trip possible. It’s not everyday where you experience going to a foreign country so we are blessed for this opportunity and will continue to share all insights we’ve learned throughout our experience in Japan. We also can’t wait to see everyone again for the reunion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38nVl70yO7k
Love your favorites,
Emily & Ella
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