JAIST organizes Japanese Cultural Excursions for international students to deepen their understanding of Japanese and local culture, while also deepening their exchanges with Japanese students.

Excursion 1 : Japanese Tea Making Experience and Garden Tour

On June 19, 15 students including 13 international students visited “Gyokusen-en Garden” in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. They strolled in the garden which is a historic garden since the beginning of Edo Period with Kenroku-en as a surrounding scenery and visited “Saisetsu-tei Tea Room”, the oldest tea room in Kanazawa. At a Japanese Tea Making Experience, they got lectured about the history of tea ceremony and the rules of behavior at teahouse first. They were impressed with its thorough explanation in English and enthusiastically asked questions. They all seemed to be fascinated with the depth of tea ceremony. After that, all participants intently made tea under the guidance of hosts, enjoyed it together with a beautiful and delicate Japanese cake which was made with the image of a green plum and had a pleasant talk with hosts and students.
After the tour at Gyokusen-en Garden, they also visited Kanazawa Castle Park and took another garden tour at Gyokusen ‘Inmaru which had been reconstructed in March, 2015. During the excursion, they actively interacted among international students from Vietnam, Brazil, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Tanzania, Germany, China and Japan and it was a meaningful opportunity for them to deepen their understandings of Japanese culture and history with the mind of “Ichigo-ichie(Treasure every meeting, for it will never recur)”which they had learned at Gyokusen-en Garden.

Excursion 2 : Hokuriku Coca-Cola Factory Tour

We hold the second Japanese Cultural Excursion of this fiscal year on August 25 and 19 international students visited “Hokuriku Coca-Cola Tonami Factory” in Tonami City, Toyama.
They firstly got lectured on profile of the factory and guidance of facilities, and watched DVD for learning history of Coca-Cola while tasting a bottle of coke which was produced at this factory. At the tour of the Coca-Cola production lines, they earnestly listened to explanations by a tour guide and took notes, and we could see their deep interests in state-of-the-art production equipment. Some said that they were impressed with its precise production lines they had never seen before and hoped to visit there with their family next time.
They also enjoyed strolling freely in a park beautifully maintained in the factory site. It was a significant time for students to interact internationally among them from India, Thailand, China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Brazil and Malaysia and to deepen their understanding of industrial technology of Japan.

Excursion 3 : International Students Exchange Event and Social Gathering

On February 26, JAIST hosted 2015 International Students Exchange Event and Social Gathering sponsored by Ishikawa Inter-regional Council for Promotion of Foreign Student Exchange. 18 international students from 4 universities in Ishikawa including JAIST visited Nomi Kutani Ceramics Center and enjoyed Kutani Ceramics Decoration Workshop. Participants decorated white porcelain dishes beautifully in an hour under the expert guidance.
At tofu factory, ODAYA Co, Ltd. in Komatsu City, they took a tour of the production lines and enjoyed tasting various kinds of soy food such as deep-fried tofu, fried bean-curd stuffed with boiled rice and more. They loved deep-fried soybean paste and some students bought a lot of that for their souvenirs.
After that, they participated in the social gathering at JAIST together with 10 members of Ishikawa Inter-regional Council for Promotion of Foreign Student Exchange including President Asano. Students from China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Iran, Cambodia and Thailand enjoyed the international exchange and they had a good opportunity to communicate with students from other universities.