Tag Archives: activity day

訪問地, 地域学習, 大阪府吹田市

A crafts experience in Suita on the 4th of July 2026

Today was fully focused on learning and making stuff related to Japanese culture. For today we even got an extra person attending, a member from the previous session who enjoyed it so much that she spent her last day in Japan to join us!

There were quite a few options to pick from, such as Japanese calligraphy and making haiku. You could also sign up for a cooking workshop. I took part in the cooking class and it was great! There were a lot of local people helping out and some students from Kansai University as well. I myself like cooking, but this was a bit different from what I was used to.

I teamed up with a special member from the previous session to make Onigirazu (onigiri for beginners). We got some help from a very sweet local lady and a Kansai University student. We started with the omelets and we got some help every step of the way. One of the funnier things in world campus is noticing how much hype you will receive for doing tasks the way they want you to do them. I flipped an omelette and got an applause, it was very funny. The food turned out great, after making it we had some time to eat it up (my host family came by, they were thoroughly impressed with our cooking).

Afterwards the cooking squad got some time to do the other workshops. All were held by locals who clearly knew what they were doing. I made a Temari ball and did some calligraphy to finish the workshops off.

We ended the morning with a demonstration of old school Japanese music, which was awesome. I loved every part of it, the amount of energy you can get from doing workshops is something I didn’t think was possible.

Ravi Kools from the Netherlands

千葉県我孫子市, 訪問地, 地域学習, 地域実行委員、プログラムサポーター

An interactive experience in Abiko City

Ken with his host family

By Ken, Participant of session 3, from Norway

The day started off with our host families dropping us off at Kinrin Center. We were visited by Mr. Junichiro Hoshino, the mayor of Abiko City! We were taught about Abiko city’s culture and history, like its famous bird museum, literary masters, Tone River, and its annual fireworks festival! We were even visited by the town’s mascot: Unakichi-San. Much of the history of Abiko City is actually represented in Unakichi-San! He is an old gentleman, referring to the old literary masters in Abiko, and an eel, an allusion to how eel caught in Tone River was considered to be the best, fetching the most handsome price.

Later on, we were able to experience traditional Japanese street performances firsthand, everything including the refined and elegant “kappore” (かっぽれ), to the mesmerizing and grand “Nankin Tamasudare” (南京玉すだれ), an art that is said to have been developed during the Edo Period (1603-1867), rooted in Buddhist tradition. “Nankin Tamasudare” uses loosely woven bamboo sticks to create extraordinary shapes by twisting, folding and extending the sticks to create interesting shapes! After the performance, we were even taught how to use the sticks, finishing with us trying to do the performance too.

Lastly, we learned how to create Mickey Mouse through Balloon Art! I personally struggled with the balloons, as they kept popping haphazardly, scaring me half to death, however, everyone eventually managed to successfully build it, resulting in a satisfying conclusion.

It’s definitely an experience that I, along with the host families and WCI, will remember!

訪問地, 東京都多摩市

Anime studio tour and saying goodbye to World Campus – Japan 2017

My host family told me ahead of time that I had to get to the meeting place earlier than usual, as my host sister was gonna take an English test (I still find it absurd that they have classes during summer break, but different school system I suppose) so there I was, at the Parthenon Tama– dying because of the heat. Well I didn’t care because I was excited for NIHON Animation! I’m gonna be honest, it’s not like I’m the biggest anime fan (I read manga though) but to see how it’s done professionally sounded awesome.

Just before we left Hiro decided it was kind of him to hand me my shoes I left at Mito… I had completely forgotten about those and it wasn’t like I was excited to carrying them throughout the day! I didn’t have space in my bag either… But Elizabeth had enough kindness to place one of the shoes into her backpack.

When we arrived at our destination, it was a lot smaller and less dramatic than I had anticipated. I’m not sure what to expect but it wasn’t what I had in mind? Well, my odd imagination is partly at blame here. We wandered around, taking pictures as your everyday gaijin. It was so much fun for sure!

We were taken back to a shopping mall. There we had our lunch and got dressed for our, sadly, last ceremony. By dressed I mean a very Japanese clothing called yukata. We were shown awesome performances as well and we managed to wrap everything up nicely.

Of course, the session wasn’t gonna finish just like that. We had our own little last meet up together. Hiro had a lovely speech about what we’ve faced and how much we’ve progressed. Also, a hug from each of the staff as we received a signed thank-you letter. It sucked how it as the last time together with all of us but it’s gonna be a cherished memory for sure.

And to end a great day, my host family took me to onsen! A very Japanese way of finishing it.

Dahabo Omar (Sweden)