He was here because his father, an engineer with the Japanese company Inpex, had been posted to Darwin to be a part of the construction of the $47 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas plant.

Kaito remembers only too well the early weeks, the fear that overwhelmed him every day living life in a very different looking country, attending school among children he did not know nor could understand and an uneasy sense of feeling lost.

Now 14 and more than six years on, the former Essington International School student has had to live those same fears all over again.

Only this time it is in his place of birth, Japan, where Kaito has now returned as the Inpex project edges closer to completion.

It is in an irony not lost on Kaito, who speaks fluent English and has spent more time attending school in Australia than he did in his first eight years growing up in Tokyo.

So too for 17 year-old Masakazu Kaganoi.

Kaito and Masakazu are the kids of Inpex. The Japanese children who have lived, studied and grown up as Territorians, while their parents went about their work at the largest onshore gas processing facility in the southern hemisphere, at Blaydin Point in Darwin Harbour.

Both have returned to Tokyo and both are having to start new lives settling back into a culture far removed from that of the Northern Territory and a bustling life in one of the world’s greatest cities where the population has pushed past nine million people.

Of the two, Kaito has found resettlement the most challenging, purely because he was so young when home became Darwin.

“In so many respects I feel I am a Territorian,” Kaito said during a chat on a commuter train on the busy Sobu line to Shinjuku.

“Coming home to Tokyo was just as hard as when I first arrived in Darwin.

“I was very young when I left Tokyo and any memories faded. I grew up in Darwin.

“I don’t remember anything about when I was younger living in Tokyo. When I came back to Tokyo it was like starting a new life.

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“Everything was different. Just getting around was so much harder. I had to get used to travelling by train and understanding the transport system which is very complex.

“It may sound strange but I even had to get used to the food.

“I had to make new friends, I had to get used to speaking Japanese first and English second.

“In Darwin there were large spaces, it was not busy and the lifestyle is so different and casual. I miss that and I miss the friends I made.

“I miss the weather. I miss how easy it was to get around and to have my friends so close by.

“They all made life so wonderful for me in Darwin. When I started at Essington School everyone made me feel happy and helped me.

“As I learned the language it was much easier. I have many happy memories of being there.”

Kaito said getting used to the Japanese school system of having to go to school six days a week has been tough.

He said this, more than anything, has been the biggest adjustment.

“It was a big shock,” he said. “I still don’t like having to go to school on Saturday. What Darwin kid would?

“In such a small community like Darwin it is easy to play lots of sport and hang out with friends at the beach or at their homes without any difficulty getting there.

“We only have Sunday and a day is not enough to see your friends or go to the bush or a swimming place.”

Masakazu Kaganoi is also a former Essington student but he spent his final two years in Darwin studying at Darwin High School.

His return to Tokyo has been less difficult but readily admits it took a while to adjust to Japanese lifestyle.

Masa was 14 when he arrived in Darwin and could speak “a little” English. His father also works for Inpex.

Like Kaito, sport and the opportunity to play so much of it, was the big help when it came to settling into Territory lifestyle and making new friends.

He enjoyed standout success in baseball playing for Tracy Village and in basketball playing in the championship winning Essington School junior team.

“It was scary coming to Darwin, even though I knew how to speak English a little bit, because I heard that Darwin was a small city where it is inconvenient compared to Japan,” Masa said. “And also, it was really sad to say goodbye to all of my friends in Japan. I was 14 so I had many friends and I actually wasn’t looking forward to going to Darwin.”

Kaito and Masa share the same issues of settling in to a new home.

“The hardest thing for me was to communicate and make friends,” Masa said. “I did know how to speak English a little bit, but it wasn’t enough to express my feelings or speak up in the class.

“So it was really tough to overcome language barriers. Playing in the Essington basketball team made me communicate with friends through sports and get used to speaking with others.

“I got to know other players from other clubs.

“Darwin proved to be a great place to interact with nature and friendly people.”

Going to school six days a week has also been hard to adjust to for Masa.

“I’m enjoying my new life in Tokyo with new school and friends, but, I don’t like that we have to study really hard,” he said.

“I personally hate studying this much and it is a lot of stress for me right now. So, I miss all my friends in Darwin, hanging around and doing sleep overs and doing stupid stuff.

“I used to play sport and be with my friends on Saturday in Darwin, now I spend my time on the train and going to school.

“It was way more relaxed in Darwin compared to school back here.

“For example in Japan we have exams every end of the term, and most of us are included in school clubs where we spend time doing activities. While in Darwin, we had to do assignments but not that much, and most of the sports were held outside school.”

While Masa and Kaito have a common link through their parents’ work with Inpex and life in Darwin, and both live in Setagaya, they do not see each other in Tokyo.

Setagaya is the second largest of the 23 special wards in Tokyo.

“That is not uncommon,” Kaito said. “Most of the children have come home to separate lives with their families and only have time for that and starting over.

“Tokyo is a big place.”

As the months slip away and Kaito and Masa get on with life they both say they will cherish their memories of Darwin forever.

“I still feel like a Territorian,” Kaito said. “I may come back one day, who knows?”

“Kakadu was a highlight of my Darwin life … I had so much fun viewing all the great sightseeing spots,” Masa said.

“I was excited to share this special experience, to live in Darwin, to people in Japan so that some people may be interested in visiting Darwin.

“I had so much good time travelling to many places overseas, such as a Malaysia trip with the basketball team, a Singapore/Malaysia trip with C4E students in Darwin High and an Africa world challenge trip.

“I never could experience this if I was in Japan. The Northern Territory was very good for me.”