Traveling to Japan – UEF student delegates take an international semester with a delightful surprise

After that, they had a chance to discover well-known locations such as Ikuta Shrine, Nankinmachi – Kobe Port Tower, Port Tower, and experience unmanned train, visit the ancient capital Kyoto with several antique shrines (Kiyomizu temple, Yakasa shrine).

Moreover, they continued to discover famous sites at Osaka: discover Osaka Castle, Suma Aquarium, Hakutsuru Sake Brewery, etc.

After enjoying beautiful scenery, UEF students were continuously surprised with the exotic cuisine of Japan. Once being in Kobe, they couldn’t miss the famous grilled beef.

Furthermore, UEFers also paid a visit to “the food capital of Japan” – Osaka city, which offers a wide range of fresh food that everybody highly praises for. More interestingly, they could make Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) themselves in a Japanese traditional way.

As soon as UEF students arrived at KIU, they received a friendly welcome from Professor Yuki Shinomura – KIU’s President. In Professor Shinomura’s class, they got an opportunity to exchange with international students from many other countries and territories, such as Nepal, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. In addition, UEFers also learnt various cultural features, demonstrated their English skills and experienced “Japanese-style” educational environment.

As this is promised to be the semester of learning experience and cultural enrichment, UEF students threaded the busy streets of the ancient town Gion to learn about the culture as well as the Japanese traditional Gion festival with over 1100 year-long history.

To have a deep knowledge of the Japanese language, lecturers shared effective learning methods. They also did calligraphy in Japanese. Each of them was instructed to grind ink and create their own products.

A trip to Japan cannot be completed if students do not try on Japanese’s National costume - Kimono. UEF students experienced extracurricular activities and learned to differentiate between Yukata and Kimono. After that, they had a chance to transform into Japanese men and women in a traditional Yukata.

Having synthesized the knowledge and experience from this journey, UEF students had astounding presentations at the closing ceremony. They received high appreciation and compliments on their presentations from KIU’s lecturers.

After the end of this amazing semester, UEF students have gained valuable learning experiences and made more international friends. Moreover, each student completing an international semester is also awarded with a certificate from Kobe International University.