National Hsinchu Industrial High School - JAPAN Educational Travel

School Profile

School Name	National Hsinchu Industrial High School
Location	Taiwan (Asia)

Website

Outline

Length of Travel	7 days, 6 nights
Locations Visited	Chiba, Yamagata, Fukushima, Tokyo
Time of Travel	May 2023
Age of Participating Students	16-18 years old
Number of Participants	39 people 36 students and 3 teachers
Purpose	Cross-cultural exchange, international exchange, sporting exchange

Locations Visited

Day 1

Arrival at Narita Airport

Overnight stay at Narita Hotel

Day 2

Visit Naritasan Shinshoji Temple and Ashikaga Flower Park

Overnight stay in Tendo Onsen

Day 3

Exchange with Yamagata Technical High School

Overnight homestay at Yonezawa

Day 4

Visit to Aizu Bukeyashiki (samurai residences), Aizu Wakamatsu Castle, walk around Inawashiro Lake

Overnight stay in Fukushima

Day 5

Visit to Nikko Toshogu Shrine, boat ride around the historical Kura-no-Machi area, visit to Odaiba Marine Park

Overnight stay in Tokyo

Day 6

Explore Tokyo

Overnight stay in Tokyo

Day 7

Return from Narita Airport

Host School (School Exchange)

Host School

Location	Yamagata
School Name	Yamagata Technical High School
School Profile	This science and technology-oriented technical high school celebrated its 103rd anniversary in 2023. It is steeped in tradition and history, and prides itself on manufacturing. Under the motto of Determination, Cooperation, and Sincerity, the school aims to nurture strong and creative engineers who carry the spirit of manufacturing and can forge through the times. Currently, the school includes departments for mechanical science and mechatronics (to be combined with mechanical engineering department in 2024), mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, information technology, architecture, and civil engineering and chemistry. Its Yamako Genki Project takes on various initiatives such as the cultivation of Yamagata mangoes through the development of biomass energy systems. The project has been garnering attention from within and outside the prefecture for its interdisciplinary efforts, making Yamagata Technical High School the first in Japan to be certified as an SDGs project school in 2020. The school's water polo, judo, and kendo clubs have participated in numerous national tournaments.
Age of Participating Students	16-18 years old
Number of Participants	671 people (611 students and 60 teachers)

Program

10：00～10：45	Welcome ceremony Greetings from the principals and student representatives of both schools presentation of commemorative gifts singing Japanese and Taiwanese songs
10：45～11：15	Visit to Mango House Overview of project inspired by exchange with Hsinchu Industrial High School Visit to smart plant factory where Yamagata mangoes are cultivated using IoT and biomass energy.
11：15～12：30	Visit to Yakushi Festival Gardeners’ Market Students from Yamagata Technical High School took the visitors on a guided walk through the Yakushi Festival Gardener’s Market. It has a history of more than 400 years and is known as one of the largest gardeners’ markets in Japan.
12:30～13:30	Lunch Yamagata ramen for lunch. The students took part in the ramen preparation process to engage with the local culinary culture (Yamagata Ramen Activity)
13:30～14:20	Sports exchange The students interacted by playing judo, volleyball, badminton, and table tennis.
14:20～15:45	Exchange workshop（Water Ballon Drop Contest【WBC】） This contest involved the students designing and building a water balloon container and dropping the balloons from the fifth floor.
15:45～16:00	Farewell ceremony The program was concluded with cheers from the cheering committee.

Reviews

Faculty feedback and advice for success

I hope we can continue to expand on these activities in the future.

I was delighted to hold an exchange program after a hiatus due to the pandemic. Ever since I encountered the warm personalities of our Taiwanese visitors online, I was determined to make this exchange happen. We felt some pressure as the visitors would be spending one entire precious day of their educational travel with us, but thanks to cooperation from many teachers and supporters, we were able to conduct the exchange smoothly. The students were able to inspire each other—that’s what’s most important. I hope we can continue to expand on these activities in the future.

Reviews from Students

The experience made me want to visit Taiwan.

The Taiwanese students were friendly and approachable. I really enjoyed hearing their anecdotes. The experience made me want to visit Taiwan. Our visitors had big smiles and I wish I could’ve chatted with them even more.

I hope to continue strengthening our relationships with people from Taiwan.

There were difficulties because of language barriers, but we were able to communicate using electronic translation tools. I believe that we were able to deepen our relationships with the Taiwanese students through this exchange. Although our time together was short, everyone worked together to make the program enjoyable. I hope to continue strengthening our relationships with people from Taiwan.