Luca Hashimoto-Kress, a 15-year-old from Hobart, Tasmania, recently visited St. Mary’s in Tokyo for a week. Though he is not part of a formal exchange program,he has been 
living in Osaka, where he has family,and has been living there for a month, with plans to stay there for four more months. He attends Senri High School in Osaka and goes to Taroona High School back in Tasmania. Luca first connected with St. Mary’s through mutual friends he met in Tasmania, who played soccer with Mr. Chan’s team from St. Mary’s. This brief visit to Tokyo has been a unique chance for Luca to experience a different city of Japan.
While Tokyo had felt exciting, Luca has noticed some differences between Osaka and the bustling Tokyo. In Osaka, he feels more at ease since he speaks Japanese and has grown comfortable to life there. Tokyo, on the other hand, struck him as more open and significantly larger. When he first got off the train in Tokyo, he was amazed at the city’s size. He has not had much time to explore Tokyo in depth, but he’s already felt the diffrence between Osaka’s familiar neighborhoods and Tokyo’s scale and energy.
On school life, Luca observed both similarities and differences. While St. Mary’s reminded him of schools in Australia, Japanese public schools are quite different from what he’s used to in Tasmania. The school culture, language, and even the way students act stand out in Japan. Despite the differences, Luca enjoys learning about these cultural norms and adapting to the Japanese school environment, which has enriched his experience in Japan.
When asked about what he misses most, Luca mentioned his family and friends in Tasmania, but he also appreciates the convenience and new friendships he’s built in Osaka and Tokyo. His regular visits to Japan have deepened his connection to his heritage, allowing him to experience both Australian and Japanese cultures. Although he’ll eventually return to Tasmania, his time in Japan continues to shape his pers
pective on life and deepen his cultural understanding.
