It has been a long five years since St Paul's Anglican Grammar School has been able to take Gippsland students to Japan on a language and culture tour, but they finally returned this year.

The group of 26 students, along with four staff members, made the journey from Melbourne to Tokyo in June to begin their two-week long adventure in Japan.
Commencing in Tokyo, the travellers experienced absolute wonder and awe at their new surroundings.
The first stop, Harajuku, paved the way for what was day-after-day enjoyment and immersion for the students.
Early on they all had their first taste of the juxtaposition that Japan is famous for, stepping into a sacred garden to visit the Meiji Jingu Shrine and away from the bustling main streets of Shibuya.
A large component of the tour was being able to visit St Paul's sister school, Hinode Gakuen.
After quickly forming friendships, the Japanese students were soon chaperoning their visitors to their classes. Through teary-eyed goodbyes after spending a few days with the sister school, St Paul's students packed up their belongings and headed off to Nagoya.
The students stayed in traditional Japanese inns and visited science museums, castles, traditional music performances, the Hiroshima Peace Park and enjoyed karaoke, making the most of attractions while in Nagoya and surrounding towns.
There were many adventures enjoyed and experiences shared between the tour group, with memories that will last a lifetime.
At St Paul's, students begin their Japanese language lessons in the foundation years of the junior school through to year nine in the secondary school. Students can then choose to continue their studies into their VCE years.