The one-day excursion to Kyoto took place on Saturday, June 6 for international students to interact with each other, experience the traditional Japanese culture, and understand the history of Japan.
The 31 participants first visited a factory of traditional folding fan in Kyoto. They experienced traditional drawing on a sheet of Japanese paper (washi) which is later to be made into the folding fan after the manufacturing process, history, and structure of the fan were explained in details. Then at the Chisyakuin temple, the next place visited, which is the head temple of Chisan school of Shingon sect, they had a traditional vegetarian meal originally derived from China with its history and preparation method being explained. The last visit for this trip was Kameoka city to join in river-rafting in the Hozu River destined for Arashiyama. They also learned the historic background of this river rafting which used to be a canal to transport goods and materials to construct Osaka Castle and Fushimi Castle in old days.
Through this excursion, they deepened the knowledge on Japanese culture and history, and also built the thorough relationship with each other. This excursion was meaningful and completed successfully as in the comments from the students that they were impressed with the Japanese traditional culture.
