Japanese Club
Miss Wilson's Trip to Japan
Miss Wilson brought us this kimono from Japan.
During October half-term, Miss Wilson went to Japan. She toured Tokyo and Kyoto as part of a trip organised by the Japan Foundation London. Besides visiting a Japanese school, she was able to find time for sightseeing, including seeing some amazing temples in Kyoto and the world’s busiest train station in Tokyo. (It has more passengers each day than the whole of the London Underground put together).
Thankfully for us at GEMS, Miss Wilson brought a whole load of goodies back, including red bean paste and green tea flavour Kit Kats, and sock glue! She also brought some Japanese books, including manga, which we’ve been reading (or looking at the pictures of anyway).
We’d like to say a big thank you to Miss Wilson for everything she brought back, and for coming to talk to us about her experiences in Japan.
Trying on sock glue, an essential item for every Japanese school girl. Our club members thought it was a brilliant way to keep their socks up all day, until they tried taking it off...
Here you can see some seaweed-flavoured rice crackers, and a manga comic book. Both were very popular with our club members.
In Japan you will see many people wearing face masks like these when out in public. They are to stop you passing on your cold, and so you don't catch a cold off anyone else.
Princess Kaguya Song
This is the song from the Japanese movie we went to see.
Treasure Hunt
You are going to go on a treasure hunt in Japan. Follow the directions and find the answers to the questions.
When you are ready to begin, click here to be teleported to the start point.
Directions
Go straight on, and then follow the road round to the left.
At the zebra crossing, turn right.
Q1 What is the big building on the right?
Keep going along the road and down the hill.
Q2 On a corner, what is at the top of the orange pole? Why is it there?
Q3 Further on down the hill, you pass several bikes. What do most of them have that bikes here usually don't have?
Take the first road on the left - it goes up hill.
Q4 You come to a trainline, but what is unusual about it?
Make a sharp right onto the main road with an orange line down the middle.
Q5 Just by the station, there is a sign with green lettering? What is it telling us? (It's written in English too.)
Follow the road.
Q6 As you start to go downhill, there is a Buddhist temple with a graveyard on the right. What symbol is used to mark it on the map?
Q7 A little further on, you come to a station. What colour is the train?
Keep going until you come to the more major road with shops.
Q8 What does the shop straight across the road sell?
Turn right onto the main road.
Before you come to the zebra crossing, take the narrow street on the left.
Q9 What type of vehicle can you hire from the shop that you pass on your right hand side.
Q10 What colour is the train on the level crossing?
Cross over the train line, and head straight on.
Q11 You will pass a 7i / 7-11 shop on your left hand side. What movie is being advertised on a banner above the door?
Keep going straight on until you reach the main road. You will see an island straight ahead. Cross the main road, and walk down the footpath on the left hand side of the road, towards the island.
Q12 What is the name of the beach house with its name in multi-coloured letters?
Keep on towards the island. You might have to use the map to jump onto the road.
When you get to the island, bear right towards the greenish building with the spike on top.
Head between it and the building to its left.
Q13 There is a gate marking the entrance to a shrine. What colour is it?
Head through the gate and straight on.
Q14 You come to another shrine gate. What colour is this one?
Use the map to jump to the top of the stairs, then go up the next flight.
Q15 What animal is on the top-left of the statue?
Turn right and follow the steps up.
Q16 What is the brown object in front of the main part of the shrine?
Then end! I hope you enjoyed your Japanese adventure.
Bonus question. What surprised you the most about what you saw?
Treasure Hunt 2
Click here to teleport to the start point.
Go straight ahead, and turn right at the first junction.
Q1 There is a green car ahead - what is it?
Take the first left and go straight ahead to the end of the street.
Q2 What is the building with scaffolding on the outside?
Turn right, go ahead to the end of the road and turn right again, then go straight on.
Q3 What is the name of the plant shop on the left?
Keep going, and when you come to the big road, cross over and head down the narrow street under the white flowers.
Q4 What does the shop on the left just as you enter the narrow street sell?
Q5 A bit further on, on the left, is a shop called Wonder Rocket. What does it sell?
Just before you get to 7-11 turn left.
Go straight ahead, then take a right down a narrow foot path just before 'White Clover,' and follow the path along.
Q6 What are there two of at the end of the path? (One is red, the other blue.)
Turn right at the end and go ahead.
Q7 What does 'Sweet Box' sell?
Turn left at the end and go ahead until you come to the main road.
Q8 What is the name of the station?
Turn left onto the main road.
Q9 What is unusual about the traffic lights?
Go straight ahead and take the first right onto the road with the metal pyramids and chains along the edges.
Q10 The forest ahead is a Shinto shrine. What is its name? (It's on some of the signs.)
That's the end of the tour, but there's one more question:
Q11 What kind of people hang out in the area you have just visited, and why?
Treasure Hunt 3
Click here to teleport to the start point.
Go straight ahead and round the sharp bend
to the right.
Q1 Right on the bend there is a blue sign pointing right. What is the name of the town is it directing you to?
Keep on going up the hill, and round the next sharp bend to the left.
When you reach the edge of the town, turn right to stay on the same road.
Q2 On the concrete wall where you turn, there is a brown sign with directions to the train station. How far is the station?
At the next junction, turn left to stay on the same road.
Go straight on up the hill until you reach the level crossing.
Q3 What colour is the train?
Q4 Just before the crossing, on your right, there is a circle on the ground (behind the red no-entry sign). What do you think it is for?
Cross the railway, and go straight on up the narrow street.
Q5 You pass under a brown arch. What does it say is straight ahead?
Q6 Just after the arch there is a shop on the right. Can you work out what kind of business it is? (Clue - look in the glass case outside.)
Keep going on up the hill. At the junction be careful not to get turned to the left.
At the top there's a car park directly in front of you. Turn left and go along until you reach the entrance to the park on your right (between the two stone gateposts).
Enter the park. (You might have to use the map to jump off the street.)
Follow the path up through the park.
Q7 What is the round thing in the centre of the park?
Keep on going until you get out the other side of the park.
Q8 How much does it cost for adults to enter the park? (It tells you on the sign by the entrance.)
Use the map to jump onto the road, and turn right.
Go along to the crossroads.
Q9 Just after the crossroads on the left is a small shrine. What colour is the scarf the statue is wearing round his neck?
Turn left at the crossroads (don't go past the shrine) and head up the hill that the truck is coming down.
Q10 What is on your left just as you start going up hill?
Keep going up.
Q11 The funicular train line is on your right. Can you spot the train? What colour is it?
Keep on going up until the road bends to the left.
Q12 Where the road turns to the left, there is a man taking measuremnts by the side of the road. He's standing next to the entrance to a station - what is the name of the station?
Keep on going up, and at the end turn right onto the main road.
Go under the bridge and keep following the main road. It goes round a sharp bend to the left.
The road then makes a sharp bend to the right. Halfway around the bend, turn left onto the side road.
Q13 There's a group of people on the left.
How many are there?
You'll come to a car park on your left. Jump into the carpark using the map and walk straight ahead to the far side.
Q14 Do you like the view?
Turn round and go inside the building. Head along almost to the end.
Q15 How much is an adult single ticket to Owakudani on the ropeway?
Keep going and head upstairs.
Q16 What colour are the cable cars?
Use the map to jump ahead to the next station on the cable car (Owakudani), and take a look around.
Q17 What is special about this place?
The end! I hope you enjoyed your tour of Gora.
The Japanese club is run in collaboration with School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University and supported by the Japan Foundation Sakura Network.