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[Event Report] "Annual Study Bus Tour" for International Students of IST

The Office of International Relations, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology (OIR, IST) organizes an annual study bus tour mainly for newly arrived international students at the IST, UTokyo, offering them opportunities to experience Japanese science, technology, and culture. This year, 30 participants joined the tour on a beautifully sunny day, Friday, January 9, 2026, for a trip to Yamanashi Prefecture.

Our first destination was the Yamanashi Maglev Test Center. We began by watching the facility’s main attraction: an experimental demonstration. After a staff member explained the principles of maglev technology, a box-shaped model representing the train body smoothly lifted off the rail and sped forward at high speed, drawing cheers from the audience. After the demonstration, the guide was showered with questions—in English—from the students. Hats off to the guide for handling them all!

The students then took turns riding a miniature maglev train with big smiles on their faces. In another area, where visitors can operate a Plarail maglev motor car (which really does float!), students could be seen enthusiastically controlling the trains with excitement like a curious child.

After the maglev visit, it was time for lunch featuring Yamanashi's local specialty, hōtō noodles. Despite the generous portions, the students polished off their meals with ease. The pickled veggies and salad bar was also very popular, with some students lining up multiple times.

Our next stop was the Kikyouya factory, famous for Yamanashi's iconic Shingen-mochi sweets. The highlight here was the Shingen-mochi all-you-can-pack challenge. Normally, 8 pieces fit into the provided bag, but by carefully stretching it without tearing and packing the sweets tightly with no gaps—as shown in the photos—the record for this tour reached an impressive 18 pieces!

The final destination of the tour was the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center. The exhibits cover a wide range of topics related to Mt. Fuji, including its geology, surrounding ecosystems, the history of Fuji worship, and mountain-climbing guides. Some students even began planning summer climbing trips during the visit.

The tour concluded with a group photo taken against the backdrop of the real Mt. Fuji.

International students are often very busy with their research work at their laboratories, and those who have just arrived in Japan may not yet have many friends, making it easy for them to feel isolated. Throughout this bus tour, however, the atmosphere was warm and friendly, and we hoped that the students were able to build new friendship networks outside their laboratories. From the organizers’ perspective as well, it was a valuable opportunity to observe the students firsthand and to talk with them about topics beyond administrative procedures.

The OIR, IST plans to continue organizing bus tours for international students in the future. We hope that these activities will serve as a catalyst for international students to expand their circles of interaction and connection.