Exchange, Exchange

Fukushima Prefecture has hosted its fair share of international visitors over the summer, with exchange groups from Canada and New Zealand passing through the region over the last couple of months. The annual Fukushima Summer School, an exchange programme run by the prefecture which invites ten Canadian teachers to experience the lifestyle and culture of Japan, took place in late July. The programme, which is in its fourth year, includes culture courses such as tea ceremony and Japanese cooking, Japanese language classes and school visits, with the highlight being a day at the Soma Noma Oi Festival. The teachers were also given a taste of Japanese family life, participating in homestays in Fukushima, Iwaki and Aizu Wakamatsu, and also enjoyed camping with Japanese families near Lake Hibara in the Ura Bandai region. In all, one hundred volunteers from around the prefecture made the exchange possible. September saw the inauguration of a similar programme for teachers from New Zealand. Eleven teachers and education officals were invited to the prefecture to partake in a week long programme during which they, too, participated in cultural activites and sightseeing. The teachers visited the Aizu region, enjoying the beauty of Ura Bandai and learning about the history of the area through visits to Tsurugajo Castle, the Buke-yashiki (Samurai Mansion) and Iimoriyama, the site of the fall of the courageous group of boy soldiers called the Byakkotai. The New Zealanders also made the most of opportunities to discuss the similarities and differences between the educational systems and teaching styles employed in New Zealand and Japan with local elementary, junior high school and senior high school teachers. Also on the itinerary was a visit to Nihonmatsu where the visitors enjoyed the beautiful Chrysanthemum Doll Festival and the lively Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival. Aizu’s Kitashiobara-machi also played host to an exchange group of twenty three visitors from their sister town of Turangi, New Zealand. The group, which included Intermediate and High School students, parents, teachers and regional council members, enjoyed four days in the beautiful Ura Bandai region. During their stay, the group took a short hike around the Five Coloured Lakes, visited the Labis Spa hot pools and participated in homestays with local residents. The visit is just one of a series of events organised by the two regions, who are pursuing their sister-city relationship with a great deal of enthusiasm.