CAMDEN — Ten Japanese exchange students with their two chaperones said a tearful goodbye to friends and their host families Friday morning, Jan. 11, at Camden Rockport Middle School as they began the journey back to Aomori, Japan, and home.

The students had spent a week enjoying the classes at school and the amenities of the Midcoast. Each student was paired with a host family. One of the chaperones, Osamu Iwabuchi, who is also Chief Teacher Consultant for the School Guidance Division of the Hirakawa City Board of Education, said this was his fifth time visiting Camden.

“We have had a very good time," he said. "I am very grateful for everything the teachers and host families have done for us. We will remember every second and never forget our time here.”

The students left tiles that will be mounted in the hallways of the school and did drawings of cherry blossoms. The cherry blossom is Japan’s national flower. The Sakura, as it is called, is viewed as a symbol for the “poetry of the Japanese soul.”

Japanese exchange students include: Asuka Takamiya, Miyu Igarashi, Taiki Soma, Ryo Saito, Kako Tsugawa, Ayaka Oyu, Natsuki Kuga, Minami Tsushima, Moe Sato and Haruna Yamaguchi. Chaperones include Kyoko Hirato and Osamu Iwabuchis.

Students whose family hosted the exchange stundents were Jade Hazzard, Mallory Caron, Desmond Cayouette, Emily Bowen, Charlotte XMesser, Zoe Zwecker, Eliza Robinson, Maddie Wickenden, Becca Westbrook, Erin Dowd and Renaissance Lyman.