Below is a story about a recent trip to Hawaii written by one of the student’s at my English school, Smith’s school of English Otsu.
My student’s name is Toshiko. She is a franchise business owner and a very determined English student, as English helps her with her business. She has been studying with us at Smith’s school of English Otsu since 2008, and we are incredibly proud of the progress she has made so far. This is Toshiko’s second contribution to the Smith’s English Soapbox, her first being an account of her trip to Hong Kong in 2009. To read about Toshiko’s trip to Hong Kong, click HERE. I want to thank Toshiko for allowing me to publish her story, and I hope you enjoy it. Note: We helped her by circling all the mistakes, but she did all the corrections herself.
Hawaii Travel 4th to 9th July, 2010
July 4th, 2010 (First Day)
Every year I look forward to taking part in the travel which is sponsored by our franchise business connection and to traveling with my friend Miyako.
This year’s tour was Hawaii. Our tour had 450 members. The 450 people were divided into two groups. Our group left on July 4th. The other group left on the next day.
We arrived at Honolulu airport in Oahu at 9am July 4th. The time difference from Japan is minus 15 hours so we returned to the previous day. It was a long day.
The hotel’s check in time was 3pm, and until then, we went sightseeing in the city. We got on the tour bus. First, we went to Nuuanu Pali Look Out. It’s a familiar sightseeing spot in Oahu. The wind was surprisingly strong. We looked over a vast landscape
Next, we went to the Punch Bowl Hills. It is an American National Memorial Park.
I’ve been there many times, but this time we didn’t get off the bus. We visited there from the bus. Soldiers who died in the Second World War, The Korean War and The Vietnam War are laid to rest there.
I saw colonel Onizuka’s grave. He was of Japanese descent but was born in Hawaii. In 1986, he was killed in the space shuttle Challenger’s disaster. People always put flowers there.
Next, we had lunch in a Chinese restaurant within the city. We received our travel rules as we ate Chinese lunch. Also I didn’t forget a souvenir for Edward at Smith’s School in Otsu. It is an English menu. After lunch, we finally got to check in at last.
Our hotel’s name was Hilton Hawaiian Village which has 3 towers, a tropical garden, and there are Flamingos, a lot of pools, restaurants, duty-free shops and an outdoor stage among the buildings. It was a large-scale hotel with a Hawaiian atmosphere. We rested until evening, and then we went out of the hotel.
That day was Independence Day so a fireworks display was held in the hotel.
We walked to the central point of Calacaua Street. It took about 20 minutes and then we arrived at Royal Hawaiian shopping center. After shopping, we went to an Italian restaurant that is a famous restaurant in Japanese magazines. We had to wait 20 minutes, before we went in. The Restaurant’s name was “Cheese Cake Factory”. After dinner, we ate cheese cake that was very delicious and large.
Click HERE to go to Hawaii Part 2
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