Category Archives: Hiroshima City

City Life, City Theme Activities, Hiroshima City

Visit to Trash Treatment Facility in Hiroshima!

Trash Incineration Facility

Walking through the Trash Treatment Center in Hiroshima, I felt like I was in an amusement park.

There were moving claws, shaped like spiders, used to grab tons of trash to be incinerated. I found this so amazing! I was also fascinated that the facility’s operation room had many computer screens to monitor different movements within the center. The staff who introduced the systems to us was very kind to answer all of my small questions. From my learning that day, it was a great chance for me to reconsider environmental problems.

(Tetsutaro Soma, Japan)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Guest Speakers, Hiroshima City

A Touching Experience at the Hiroshima Peace Museum

Hiroshima Survivor Speech

One month ago, World Campus International went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and listened to a speech from one of the survivors, Mr. Katsuji Yoshida. For all of us, that experience was very emotional and meaningful. When we were in the Hiroshima Peace Museum, Mr. Kasufumi Shintaku, who is a survivor of the A-bomb on August 6th, also shared his personal memories with us.

More than 60 years has passed since the end of the second World War. When I stood at the hypocenter in Hiroshima, in the very place where the bomb dropped, I felt that history was so close, yet so far away. Looking around the area, Hiroshima existed under the bright summer sunshine and I could not imagine that this was the place that an A-bomb nearly destroyed… The colorful tiny paper cranes surrounding the monument were a sign telling us that people have never forgotten the horrible tragedy.

When Mr. Shintaku shared his memories with us, we saw the cruel picture after the bomb dropped. We heard about a little child who cried for her parents, we felt the helplessness of the citizens and we all cried. I remember the sentence Mr. Yoshida wrote to us in the Nagasaki Museum, “The basis of peace is for people to understand the pain of others”. I believe that anyone who has the same chance to hear such a personal painful recollection will realize how important peace is and will put forth their best effort to never let that same tragedy happen again.

(Zuxin Hou, China)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Hiroshima City, Our participants

Wrap-up – Super Happy Sunshine Funtime Tour



Less than two months. It was a short amount of time but enough for a bunch of strangers from fourteen countries to come together. During that time we learned, we played, we had fun, we got frustrated, we overcame, we laughed, and we cried together. And as a group, we successfully completed the World Campus International summer program. Yay!! Congratulations!! 😉

There were great times where everything was peachy and fun. From hiking Mt. Taro, to the walking tours of Tokyo, to attending the Peace Ceremony in Hiroshima. Everything was not always super happy though. There were also demanding times where we met challenges. From our first “Thank-you Event” rehearsal, to our struggles in “getting over the rope”, to our final goodbyes at the airport. Those were difficult times but we always somehow prevailed as a group.

It is hard to imagine the amazing experiences we would share when everyone first stepped off the bus at the Music Village in Ueda City. Everyone seemed so different and I did not know how the group would mesh together or how long it would take. Living together at the Music Village for the first few days obviously allowed us to connect sooner but I would like to commend everyone for being so open and personable to those that would join later. This program can only succeed if everyone works together, plus it is also a lot more fun when everybody gets along. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise for me to see such harmony in so little time.

Although WCI is not an academic program, it is undeniable to state that we all learned much during the tour. Staying with host families offered us the best opportunity to experience Japanese life and culture. What we have learned was not just relegated to Japanese culture either. Because we were such a diverse group, we were able to learn a little bit about the other countries too. We were all put in an uncomfortable situation in a country foreign to many of us with so many different personalities. Such as life, sometimes the personalities conflicted, yet we all learned about ourselves and how to handle such uneasy situations.

It might be cliché to say, but our little community was much like a family. Every one of us went through tremendous highs and deflating lows but we were always there for each other. Although we are parted now, our shared experiences will never be forgotten. Thank you all for the wonderful memories. It is very difficult not to get overly nostalgic when reflecting back on the tour but it was truly a super happy sunshine funtime.

(Guang Yeung, USA)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Hiroshima City

The Hiroshima Lantern Festival



On August 6th, 2008, World Campus — Japan members along with people from all over the world and local community members participated in the Hiroshima Lantern Festival. The ritual was held on the evening of the anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing. During this festival, blue, green, red, pink, and white cube-shaped lanterns float down the Motoyasugawa River in the twilight. Japanese Buddhists believe that every year the souls of the dead visit their descendants. When the dead return, the lanterns on the river light the path, guiding the spirits of the A-Bomb victims back to heaven.

Despite the large crowds of people, the memory of the solemn event that occurred 63 years ago was still so beautiful and serene.

With strong hopes for world peace, thousands of visitors sent messages to the dead. A few World Campus — Japan members, including me, David, Guang and Ilkka had the special opportunity to partake in the emotional ceremony. Each one of us thoughtfully wrote messages on the colorful pieces of rice paper wishing for world peace, love in the world, and for the spirits to rest in peace. Afterwards, we placed our messages on a wooden lantern frame, lit a candle inside the lantern and set it free downstream to aid the spirits in finding their way home. It was such a wonderful and touching experience to be surrounded by different people from all over the world, all with love and the desire for world peace in their hearts.

(Janice Tsang, USA)