Tag Archives: culture

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

訪問地, 地域学習, 地域実行委員、プログラムサポーター, 神奈川県伊勢原市

Oyama Hike, Shrine Visit, and City Hall Seminars 2023

Henry Carries the Pilgrims' Wooden Blade
Henry Carries the Pilgrims’ Wooden Blade

By Henry, Participant of Session 2, from Norway

Today might be one of the most exciting and tiring days so far in session 2. It started off with us visiting the most known part of Isehara, Mt. Oyama. I decided to make the smart choice and take the cable car to the shrine we were visiting, Oyama Afuri, rather than taking the 45-minute hike up the mountain in the 30+ degree weather (While we were waiting for the ones who chose to hike, we got ice cream, but we were told to keep that a secret to prevent them from getting jealous, so shhh). At the shrine, we got to experience a Shinto ceremony, and we learnt a lot about Shintoism and the history of the shrines on Mt. Oyama. For lunch we stopped at a ryokan not too far from the Oyama cable car, where we got served tofu prepared in a vast variety of ways. I’m not usually a massive fan of tofu, but the expertise and variety made the dish an experience, and a delicious one at that.

Discussions with the City Hall Officers
Discussions with the City Hall Officers

After our excursion to Oyama, we went to city hall, where we met with city officials. Together we watched two of our counsellors give presentations on the livability of cities in the Netherlands and Joensuu, a city in Finland. The most interesting part of the visit however, was after the presentations, when we got split into groups and got to properly introduce ourselves to some of the city officials. We were all a bit shy at first, but quickly opened up to each other, before we all shared what our favorite aspect of our own cities were. We participants got to learn about Isehara, and the city officials got ideas on how to improve the livability of a city from all around the world.

At the end of the day, we got to try out replicas of samurai armor. This was the highlight of the day in my opinion. With a katana being part of the outfit, we got some absolutely amazing photos, and some great laughs with friends as we did cool and silly poses. It was a chill and fun way to cap off a great first activity day in a new city.

訪問地

Ninja Experience 2023

By Lizzie, Participant of Session 1,2, and 3, from USA

This week we did a ninja experience in Akame. Akame was historically the place for Iga Ninjas to train. For that reason, there’s a place for tourists to experience ninja training. We each chose our own ninja uniform and set off for training.

Each activity imitated the skills needed to break into a fortress or attack an enemy. For example, we started with the wall climb. Though some of us may have gracefully jumped over the 3 increasingly tall walls, I certainly did not. Afterwards we did an activity where we balanced our bodies horizontally on a rope and pulled ourselves along. Being smaller definitely helped with this activity.

Then we moved onto skills for attacking enemies: shuriken throwing and blowdart blowing. Though none of us had the accuracy of a ninja, it was easy enough for most to hit the board. It was quite satisfying to hit the target.

Last was the infamous river crossing. I had heard a lot about this activity and how hard it was, but for some reason believed I would be successful. To complete the activity, you needed to balance your feet on two round floats and pull yourself to the other side with a rope. I was very much humbled when I couldn’t even get on the floats without falling into the river. In the end only one person was able to make it across. Even with our failure, we each received a scroll confirming us as ninjas.

We spent the remainder of the day enjoying the nearby beautiful Akame 48 falls. This day was a fan-favorite among the group members.

訪問地, 地域学習, 参加生, サポーター, Isa City

Middle and High School Visit in Isa City

By Asbjørn Kallestad, participant of Session 1&2, from Norway

Asbjørn learning Origami from the students 2

Today we visited Okuchi Meiko Gakuen School a middle and high school. We first gathered in the school gymnasium with all the students and teachers, and we had a presentation about our home countries. Following this gathering, we were divided into smaller groups to have lunch, and do a variety of activities together. I was in a group led by a student aspiring to become an English teacher. We connected well and had conversations about ourselves and our goals as we moved between gathering rooms during this day.

In the first classroom, we were split into different tables with students. The students at my table were initially a bit shy; However, they gradually opened up, and we connected and enjoyed lunch together. The wonderful grandmother of my host family had prepared a delicious traditional Japanese meal for me, which I appreciated highly. Next, we had the chance to experience the art of Japanese Origami. I was taught the art by a skilled an enthusiastic high school student who aspired to teach abroad and to improve her English. She patiently demonstrated how to fold various types of origami, and I successfully made a swan, a jumping frog, and a balloon. As a memento, we exchanged signed swans at the end.

The following tea ceremony was for me an unforgettable experience. We entered a traditional Japanese room where beautiful music was played on the Koto, a Japanese instrument. Behind the student musicians was a lovely garden that could be seen through the window of the room. The atmosphere I experienced here was unparalleled. We sat down and observed the tea ceremony while the students in detail explained the entire tea-making process. Afterward, we had the opportunity to taste the matcha tea the students had prepared. From my experience the matcha tea had a unique flavour and I thought it tasted so good, leaving me with a wish to experience a tea ceremony again.

The entire event felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The whole school participated, and they genuinely showed interest in sharing their crafts with us. Engaging in various activities was incredibly exciting, and I learned a lot throughout the day. When we left the school, all the students gathered and waved goodbye to us; it almost felt like being a celebrity ^^ They took excellent care of us, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Later that day, we got to learn more origami, fill a Tanabata tree with wishes, and fold hats. The teacher who guided us was incredibly kind and patient when showing us the different steps of the craft. On our way out, a lady partaking in the event approached me and gave me a hat she had made, which was incredibly kind of her.

This day left me with unforgettable memories and experiences. I am very grateful that I was allowed to be part of this cultural exchange experience.

訪問地, 地域学習, 東京都多摩市

Happi

koto experience
koto experience

Wednesday the 7th of August was the first day of the last week of our great trip around Kanto area. We had had lot of fun times in Mito and afterwards in Abiko, but now was time for the city of Tama.

The first thing in the morning, we got to try out traditional Japanese clothing – kimonos. Each member of our group was dressed up by a bunch of lovely and enthusiastic ladies, all the while we could only raise our hands and let them do their work. Personally I really like this type of clothing and found it really fun to dress up in a few different outfit combinations for the photoshoot we had afterwards.

When everyone had at least tried on the clothes and had some pictures taken, we had a small parade around the building. Some of us were a bit uncomfortable about being presented as dressed up foreigners for the entertainment of the local people, but I just took it by the stride and enjoyed my time playing a Japanese flute, shinobue, to make most out of the experience. The parade ended at a stage, where we could try our hand at traditional Japanese games, while still in our fancy clothes. Not gonna lie, juggling or playing with a kendama with big floppy sleeves was not the easiest thing to do…

After lunch, it was time to try on a different traditional Japanese costume – Happi coat. Though not as fancy as the kimonos, it was a nice experience to try those too. In our new costumes we continued onwards with activities. From here we showed the audience the dance we had prepared for the arigatou event and gave them a few short presentations of some of our home countries.
The highlight of the afternoon for me, personally, was the activity following that. We got to try our hand at playing either a Japanese harp, koto, or one of the Japanese flutes, shakuhachi. While I would’ve loved to try out their shakuhachis, time only allowed for us to try one instrument, so I had fund picking sounds out of the koto.

The last activity of the day made us feel like proper celebrities for we got to give out autographs. It would’ve been great fun, if the kids wouldn’t have wanted us to draw something along with giving the autograph. I decided to give my signing seat to another participant after a few signatures to save the rest of the kids from my… “Art”…
All in all we had great fun!

Oskari, Finland