Some lower primary students may not be able to relate easily to the concept of travel. However, by simulating travelling to Japan, students can become familiar with some cultural and geographical aspects through the language in a way that is interesting and fun. 　   　   　 The first task is to make students aware of the size, geographical position and the distance of Japan in relation to Australia by showing an area map. You may give students their own copy of the map and ask them to stick/write the names にほん  and オーストラリア  next to the country. Students can then draw a line showing the route they would take when flying to Japan. 　 　 　 As a pre-task you may ask students what they would pack if they travelled to Japan, and why. This discussion can be done in English, and then the vocabulary for belongings can be introduced in Japanese with the picture grid below, and reinforced by playing games like lotto, bingo and noughts and crosses. You can use this opportunity to introduce and discuss the concept of omiyage. In preparation for 'Pack your bags' you need to make one set of belongings cards and one suitcase per student. Then mix all the cards together and randomly put 12 cards into each suitcase. Give each student a suitcase with a random set of 12 cards, and a checklist of 12 things they have to pack. Students look through their cards, pick out any that are on their checklist (one of each) and put them in their suitcase. They then take the rest of their cards and their checklist, circulate around the class and ask each other for the remaining items on their list. 　 eg, 　 A すみません、〜ある/ありますか？ Excuse me... do you have...? B はい  yes or いいえ no A 〜をください。 Could I have...? 　 The first student to collect all the items on the list, put them in their suitcase and say 「できました！」 'finished!' is the winner. 　 　 　 　 Using the pictures below you can introduce students to major cities and famous landmarks in Japan. With your help, students can locate these places on the map of Japan. 　 　   　 　   The pictures above can be made into flashcards, and used to play human 'sugoroku'. Place flashcards on the floor next to one another. Students throw a die and move according to the number to the appropriate card, saying the name of the place, eg. おおさか. Once students are familiar with the place names, you can give instructions such as 「きょうとにいって」and students move accordingly, counting as they go. 　   　 　 Make 10 cards from enlargements of the strips below, and stick the cards on the walls around the classroom. For students who are still learning Hiragana, you may give roomaji support. For lower primary classes, you may paste pictures above the names as extra support. 　 　 Make strips of place names. Each student takes a strip, which indicates the starting place of their trip. First, students search for their starting place on the left side of the cards on the walls. On the right side they will find their next destination, and write it down. They will then search for this destination on the left side of the cards, and continue until they have visited 10 places and come back to the place where they started, with the names written down. The first person to finish and have their list checked by the teacher wins.  　 　 　 Activity Resource 7 contains a  すごろく activity on the theme of Travel Around Japan, which introduces means of transport, and can be adapted in the following way. Students form groups of four, place their markers on Sapporo and decide who will start with  じゃんけん. They take turns to throw the die and move accordingly. (Players can count out loud as they move.) If they land on a city, they pick up a transport card, and keep the card if they can say the word for the picture on the card. For ひこうき and しんかんせん cards players get 2 points as they can travel faster, and for other cards they get one point. The player who gets the most points wins. 　   　 This section co-ordinated by Himiko Negishi-Wood 　   　   　 　 Privacy & Copyright © The Japan Foundation, Sydney