The 4th Multilingual Nature Camp
August 10th, 2018

The 4th Multilingual Nature Camp was held in Madarao, Iiyama city, Nagano prefecture fromJuly 31st (Tuesday), to August 3rd (Friday).
Held every summer in Iiyama city, participants of various cultures, languages, and ages enjoy
activities together in nature, transcending cultural differences to form friendships at thisthree-night, four-day international exchange experience. This year, there were 297
participants ranging from 1 to 70 years old.

High school and university-age members
led a multilingual orientation at theopening ceremony. Participants from allover Japan, as well as eleven othercountries: China, Taiwan, South Korea,
Singapore,

Thailand,Malaysia,

theUnited States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany,and France, enjoyed various activities,
such as a “true or false” game. The mayorof Iiyama city shared as to why Iiyama iscalled the “hometown of Japan.”1

The nine activities of Nature Camp
include courses suitably challenging foradults and older children, such asclimbing Mt. Madarao, waterfall and river
trekking, and trekking at Mt. Kenashi.
There are also those appropriate for smallchildren, including water play, walking at
Lake Nozomi, nature crafts, rafting, aforest nature walk, and zip lining.
Participants chose their desired activities
and enjoyed immersing in nature.

At the activity plaza, children could beseen making key holders and forest
animals out of wood scraps for nature craft
activities. Participants also built forts outof branches collected from the nearby
beech trees. Later, an open-air concert
was held, featuring the guitar, accordion,
triangle, and instruments made frombranches. Bothadults and childrenenjoyed this unique nature experience.

The main multilingual event was held on
the afternoon of the third day. At theplaza, a mix of Japanese, Mandarin
Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish andmore could be heard. In the refreshingoutdoors,

participants

ofvarious

backgrounds deepened their ties while
singing and dancing to songs from aroundthe world.

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Ultimately, a bamboo slide decorated with scavenged hydrangeas, built by camp participants
under the guidance of nature activist, Mr. Yoshihi Futana, was revealed. Constructed without
the use of nails or wires, instead only using bamboo and natural fiber rope, the slide proved
popular with both children and adults.

The evening was kicked off by over 300 people participating in a tug-of-war designed to starta fire. Even though the weather was misty, their hard work prevailed, and a spectacular bonfire
was lit. Finally, participants gathered round to sing “Furusato,” a famous song that originatedin Iiyama city.

The closing ceremony was shared online live with Hippo members and friends in South Korea,
Indonesia, and Mexico. The group chatted with American members and a coordinatorparticipating in a homestay in Mexico. A representative from the Iiyama Tourism Bureau
welcomed camp attendees to come again in the wintertime, and the owners of the hosting
pensions were presented with thank-cards from the participants.

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During sharing time, attendees stated that during the four days they were able to become likea real family. One participant, a Chinese father who attended with his 10-year old son said,“Before, my son couldn`t speak Japanese at all, but he started to during this camp. I realizedthat it`s important to let him progress naturally, instead of forcing him.” The ceremony waswrapped up with a slideshow sharing all the fun memories and friendships made during thefour days immersed in nature.

Hippo Family Club also coordinates a winter camp in Iiyama city, Nagano. Last year, over 750
participants attended. The 6th Multilingual Snow Camp is scheduled for the end of March2019.

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