Welcome to the special report on the Awaji Learning Holiday Program. Here, we would like to share some of the comments we received from the participants.

I’m most grateful to have had joined Parsona’s study tour to Awajishima last August. Following the program, we were busy visiting places, interviewing different local people in order to complete our daily assignment. The study tour lasts only one week, but it opens a new page to me. Through this program, it helped me to overcome my shyness and stop feeling reluctant to speak poor Japanese in front of others. It is a big step for me to move forward technically and psychologically, so I find it truly rewarding and memorable. Thank you very much Kameshima Sensei, Matsumoto Sensei.
(Ellis – Studied Japanese for 6 years)

Although I have been to Japan many times before, this Awaji learning holiday was a particularly memorable one because it combined learning, cultural activities and relaxation into a holistic experience. Awaji Island is located between Honshu and Shikoku, which is about 1.5-hour drive away from Osaka. Awaji is a great place surrounded by a natural environment with hot spring resorts, energy power spots as well as history monuments.
During the morning, we prepared for our group project, which was about inviting tourists to Awaji Island for a deep-Japan-all-in-one tour including relaxation, health, spiritual tour and cultural activities. In the afternoon, we visited Pasona’s properties and interviewed Japanese people there so we had many opportunities to practise spoken language.
In addition, we also had cultural activities such as Taiko drums, a Hello Kitty show, museum and shrine visits. There were a variety of Japanese and Western cuisine, such as, seafood, organic food, Awaji beef Teppanyaki, Tempura and western fine dining, for us to choose for lunch and dinner. At night, we could enjoy the hot spring by the seaside.
Thanks Pasona for organizing this event. I highly recommend a visit to Awaji.
(Stephen – Studied Japanese for 5 years)

This is my first time traveling to Japan, so I was very excited throughout the entire trip.
I have always heard that the vegetables in Japan are delicious and have been looking forward to trying them.
Therefore, going to Awaji Island and trying their vegetable cuisine is a great opportunity for me.
The photo I have chosen is from the very first breakfast I had on Awaji Island. It was delicious and provided a great start to my trip. It also showed me that they would like to promote a healthy lifestyle by using food as a substitute for medicine.
(Harry – Studied Japanese for 4 years)

Although nine of us have different backgrounds, we could quickly bond with each other because we all have the same love for Japan and the same desire to learn Japanese. After attending lessons and completing interviews every day, we visited various places and tasted local food together with laughter. With this enjoyable atmosphere, this one-week course finished too quickly and I felt a little sad to say goodbye to it. I hope we can form this group and travel together again in the future.
(Michelle – Studied Japanese for 4 years)

I am happy that I joined the Awaji Learning Holiday Program. Our tutors, Ms. Kameshima and Ms. Matsumoto arranged a very well planned learning schedule for us. During the Japanese language training modules, I learned some necessary conversation strategies. Through interviews I had the opportunities to use the information and knowledge obtained from the action learning. The most treasurable thing is that I have met some friends who are keen on learning Japanese. And all of them have different talents. I am lucky I had the chance to learn from them.
In fact, this is my first time to Awaji Island. It’s a fantastic place with lots of natural resources. I love it.
(Susana – Studied Japanese for 3 years)

Spending one-week on Awaji Island, I became acquainted with many new members from Hong Kong and local Japanese people. My Japanese conversation skills had greatly improved through sharing and communication with each other especially from the day-by-day interview program to the final Japanese presentation, even though it was really a hard experience for me. Besides the learning program, we visited Izanagi Shrine, Zenbou Seinei and also played the Japanese Taiko Drums. These cultural experiences were enjoyable. The people in Awaji were very nice and friendly. They gave us a good impression. Lastly, thanks to Pasona for offering this program to encourage my self-confidence in learning Japanese and an unforgettable journey.
(Chan Kwok Fai – Studied Japanese for 2 years)