As part of the Japanese language education course, we took a bus trip from Lake Toya to Date.

There are two things we think are important when international students are learning Japanese.

The first is to develop the ability to view their own country’s culture in a relative sense while also learning about Japanese culture.

The other is to cultivate a mindset that is able to cherish both the cultures of their home country and Japan.

We believe that when living in a global society, it is not enough to just learn the language.

We first went to Showa Shinzan to learn about “gratitude and awe for nature,” one of the foundations of Japanese culture.

Showa Shinzan was a wheat field that suddenly began to rise in 1943, and even now, 81 years later, it is still emitting smoke.

They were very surprised and felt the great energy of nature.

Next, we went to the magnificent Lake Toya.

Nationality doesn’t really matter when it comes to being moved by the beauty of nature.

Everyone was staring at the scenery during the free time.
They seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the majestic and beautiful scenery and the sounds of the lake water.

Finally, experience Zazen at Daioji Temple in Date City.

Zazen is a form of meditation in which you “stabilize your body by sitting and achieve harmony between body, breath, and mind by concentrating your mind.”

Shikantaza, which involves simply sitting without being distracted by various thoughts or desires, is a profound and extremely difficult practice to try.

After completing zazen, some students felt their body and mind were calm, and their field of vision was broader and clearer than usual.

Thank you to everyone at Daiouji Temple for helping make this valuable experience possible.

The international students are always studying the Japanese language very hard.

On this bus trip, they learned about Hokkaido’s great nature and Japanese culture that cannot be expressed in words, and felt it with their bodies.