11/10/2017

The exchange students had a chance to try on kimonos on Tuesday, October 3. At first, they seemed slightly puzzled as they put on the unfamiliar clothes. However, they were fascinated by kimono’s beauty and enjoyed taking pictures of each other.

Afterwards, they took a walk to Nakajima Park. Although the weather did not cooperate, they had fun experiencing this aspect of traditional Japanese culture.

22/09/2017

On Thursday, September 14, the International Exchange Courses※ orientation was held in the International Lounge.

On that day, most of the teachers who are in charge of these courses attended the orientation. First, each teacher briefly summarized his/her course to all the students. Afterwards, there was a question and answer time when students could talk to the teachers individually about each class. The International Exchange Courses orientation is held every April and September soon after the international students arrive at Hokusei.

※Hokusei Gakuen University provides international communication-related subjects in which Hokusei Gakuen University students and overseas students have the opportunity to study together. International Exchange Courses are designed for overseas students to study subjects in fields ranging from Japanese culture, literature, and economy to comparative culture and mass communication in English or other languages.

21/09/2017

A welcome party for the fall 2017 international students was held on September 12 in the college hall. About 40 participants, including international students, Hokusei students, and staff, joined the party and were welcomed by Prof. Peter Gray, Director of the International Education & Language Center.

In the middle of the party, the 19 international students introduced themselves in front of everyone. One international student who is from the United States explained his catchy nickname in Japanese. In addition, an international student who is from Korea told us his passion for Japanese baseball and said, “I’d like to go to the Sapporo Dome to watch baseball as soon as possible!” All of the international students gave a unique self-introduction.

After the welcome party, another party was held on the second-floor of the college hall, and everyone enjoyed playing “Human Bingo.” The international students and Hokusei students had lots of fun interacting and chatting with each other.

21/09/2017

The new international students for the fall semester of 2017 have arrived on campus! We are glad to welcome 19 students from eight countries and seven universities or colleges. We hope all the international students will experience a rewarding and fun campus life at Hokusei.

26/07/2017

The farewell party for the spring 2017 international students was held by HUIT (Hokusei University International Team) at the International lounge on July 7. There were 33 students, including international students and Hokusei students, at this event.

The theme of the farewell party was “traditional Japanese summer festival” and it was held for the International students who have studied at Hokusei Gakuen University from September 2016 to July 2017 or from April 2017 to July 2017.

The events at the farewell party included a rubber band gun shooting gallery, fishing for balloons, yukata try-on, and nagashi-soumen, which is a Japanese fun style of eating thin wheat noodles (soumen) that are served in water flowing down a special half-pipe. Not only the international students but also many of the Hokusei students commented that it was their first time to try nagashi-soumen.

After these activities, HUIT held a traditional Japanese summer game called suika-wari, which involves someone who is blindfolded trying to split open a watermelon with a long stick. All the participants consumed the pieces of watermelon afterwards!

In addition, July 7 is the festival of Tanabata (the Star Festival) in Japan, so HUIT performed a short play re-enacting the origin of Tanabata for the participants. After watching the play, everyone wrote their wishes on tanzaku (strips of paper) and hung them on a weeping willow.

This was the last event put on by HUIT in the 2017 spring semester, but we look forward to the events that they are planning for the fall semester as well.

13/07/2017

A Japanese Speech Presentation by the international students was held in Hokusei’s International Lounge on Thursday, July 6.

This presentation is held at the end of every semester, and it is a compilation of what the international students studied while at Hokusei. Each student spoke in Japanese about the culture of their own country, memories of their stay in Japan, and various other topics.

Hokusei students also participated in this event as the audience. They enjoyed asking questions about the speeches and talking to the international students after the formal presentations were over. It was a successful event for everyone involved.

23/06/2017

The welcome ceremony for three new members of HUIT (Hokusei University International Team) was held on Friday, June 16. The three new members were selected to fill openings on the ten-person HUIT team.

☆What is HUIT? ☆
HUIT (Hokusei University International Team) is a student organization established in 2016 that works directly with the Hokusei International Education & Language Center. HUIT organizes and leads activities that promote international exchanges between Hokusei University students and the international students who are studying at Hokusei. So far, HUIT has held various events such as a dodgeball competition, farewell party and chirashi-sushi party.

The members of HUIT will continue to create a variety of fun events to increase globalization on Hokusei’s campus. You can check past events held by HUIT on Hokusei International Education & Language Center’s Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/hgu.international/

14/06/2017

The annual Hokusei Sports Festival was held from June 2 to June 4, and the exchange students participated in this event with Hokusei students. The exchange student teams participated in futsal (indoor soccer) and basketball. Even though their teams were eliminated in the first round, everyone tried hard for their team.

12/06/2017

The exchange students were able to experience Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo) with the cooperation of the Hokusei Calligraphy Club on Wednesday, June 7. They began by learning how to hold and make strokes with the brush, and they are gradually improved.

Afterwards, they chose a Japanese word that they liked and wrote it. Each student’s best calligraphy is currently exhibited in the International Lounge at Hokusei.

08/06/2017

The exchange students had a chance to try on kimonos on Tuesday, June 6. The students enjoyed trying on traditional Japanese kimonos and having their hair set in the unique Japanese style called Nihon-Gami. They took many photos of each other.

Afterwards, they took a walk to a nearby shrine. It was a bit difficult for the students to walk in the unfamiliar clothes; however, they had fun experiencing this aspect of traditional Japanese culture.