An ''educational experience trip'' was held in Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture, where Taiwanese high school students stayed overnight at a farmhouse and learned about local life. Ten homes in the mountain area hosted the participants, where they enjoyed home-cooked meals and deepened their relationships with the residents. The Kyoto Regional Promotion Organization (DMO), which planned the event, said, ''Ayabe's Satoyama is the original landscape of Japan.We hope that visitors will become repeat visitors after experiencing its true appearance and culture.''
On February 18, 2024, approximately 40 students from Jishu Senior High School, which is equivalent to a high school in Taiwan, visited each family. Four of the female students stayed at the guest house ''Washuku Origin'' (Ayabe City). We warmed up on the wood stove and ate okonomiyaki and grilled deer meat. At night, he went to the nearby Ayabe Onsen, and on his way back he encountered a deer.
Second-year high school student Li Shin-kei (17 years old) said, ''I've never seen a wood stove before, but it was warm. I felt a special atmosphere.'' The owner, Yasuko Kashihara, said, ''It was amazing for my eldest daughter of the same generation. We exchanged Instagram addresses and felt how close we were.Next time, I would like you to come and visit us in private."
Approximately 150 people participated in the educational experience trip, which lasted for 5 nights and 6 days. On the first day, they stayed at homes in Ayabe City, Kameoka City, and Miyama-cho, Nantan City, and from the second day onwards, they visited Kyoto City and Osaka City. Principal Masami Kuo said, ''In Kyoto, the students chose Ayabe because they wanted to stay in a rural area rather than in the city center.The scenery was beautiful and they said they wanted to see snow.''
According to Mori no Kyoto DMO, this is the first time that a household in Ayabe City has accepted 40 people from overseas at once. Isao Tabuchi, general manager and planning manager, said, ''The event was well-received because it gave a sense of what Japan is like in everyday life.People also liked the interaction with young people at home.''The company will continue to focus on attracting more people.
