Day 1
The JYC 2025-2026 programme commenced at Paddington Station, where many of the Collective members met one another for the first time. On the train journey to Reading, the members got to chat to one another and learn more about one another's interests in Japan before arriving at Queen Anne's School, where the residential would take place. Once all the members had arrived, the residential orientation swiftly kicked off with some quick-fire icebreaker activities before a brief tour to familiarise themselves with where they would be spending the next couple of days together. Following this, the member's attended the orientation's opening ceremony, where they learned about what they would be doing throughout the next few days and what the rest of the programme might look like.
After a quick bit of lunch, the Collective members had an jam-packed day of activities, including a manga drawing workshop and Japanese language lessons. At the end of the day, the members had enjoyed a delicious meal in the Queen Anne's School cafeteria, before getting to enjoy some free time together. They also had the opportunity to attend a Q&A talk by a member of The Japan Society's Education Team, Lucy, who shared with the Collective members about her own journey of studying Japanese and where it took her in her career!
Day 2
Members woke up bright and early for another day of fun activities! After breakfast together in the cafeteria, the members got out into the sunshine and tried Radio Taiso for the first time - a great way to start the day feeling energised! During the day, the members got to attend more Japanese language lessons, as well as another manga-drawing session, and even got to design and paint their own kitsune fox-masks after learning a bit about Japanese summer festivals, known as matsuri.
The members also started working on a group project, which they would present on the final day of the residential. The aim of the project was to design a service they could sell to members of the public, using yokai! This was a perfect opportunity to really let their collective creativity shine, through working together as a team. Together in their teams, the members brainstormed some ideas, before designating roles within their group and developing their ideas into a concrete action plan.
Rounding off the day, the members enjoyed dinner together in the cafeteria before free-time. They also got to attend another Q&A talk by a member of The Japan Society's Education Team, Rebecca, who shared her own story of living and working in Japan through the JET Programme, and how this shaped her career!
Day 3
The final day of the residential kicked off again with more Radio Taiso and ice-breaker activities and games outside in the summer air. With the season in mind, the members attended another art workshop, where they got creative and designed their own summer postcards using sumi-e ink and painted uchiwa fans. After this, the members gathered together once again in their teams to finish polishing off their yokai projects before they would present them to the rest of the Collective after lunch!
After the final lunch of the residential, the members gathered together again in the sixth form centre to present their sales pitch. Despite having only known each other for a handful of days, The Japan Society staff were amazed by the quality and creativity of the presentations, and how confidently each team were able to stand up and present their project in front of everyone; and there were certainly some very unique yokai sales pitches!
To round off and celebrate the end of the residential orientation, the members got to attend a mini Tanabata-themed matsuri, where they got to wear happi, eat snacks, write tanzaku and hang them on a bamboo tree, and play games together. Following an awards ceremony where members were presented prizes for their exceptional hard-work and effort they displayed during the residential, the Collective packed up their belongings and headed on the mini-bus back to Reading Station, feeling tired but happy after an incredibly busy 3 days together!
Needless to say, the residential orientation was a resounding success, and the members were able to make life-long memories with one another whilst exploring their passions for Japan together. We are looking forward to seeing all that the Members are able to achieve over the next 8 months of the programme - stay tuned to find out what they get up to!
JYC Members' Voices
Reflection and Interviews by Omar
1) As a whole, what are your opinions on the orientation?
Matei: I think the activities were quite fulfilling for 3 days, and they were all beginner friendly and useful. The teachers made quite an effort to make each lesson engaging, and everyone learned at least something. The lessons were also quite engaging thanks to the teachers, who involved everyone in the class.
Molly: My opinions on the orientation are that it was very good and informative. It allowed us to get very good insight into the program.
Mekdu: The Orientation was great, I enjoyed all the activities and I loved getting to know people more there. I learnt a lot of things about Japanese culture that I didn’t know before like the history behind manga and the Tanabata festival. I also met really cool people there and I look forward to making friends with them.
Omar: The Orientation was an incredible opportunity to learn so many new skills and meet loads of new and friendly people. All of the classes were led by really kind and proficient teachers who helped us improve at every step of the way, and it helped us all learn new skills. I'm very thankful I was able to join the orientation and the program as a whole too.
2) What was your favourite part of the orientation?
Matei: My favourite part was either Japanese with Keiko Sensei or the fox mask painting. I found Keiko Sensei's Japanese classes very well put together, which allowed everyone to engage and learn, and the little booklet she made was very good as it showed hiragana, katakana, and romaji, so it was easy to understand each word. The fox mask painting was a very fun activity that allowed everyone to show their creativity.
Molly: My favorite part was designing the post cards, I thought it was very fun.
Mekdu: My favorite part of orientation was the Shochumimai class. I really enjoyed learning the techniques to create art with just a few brushstrokes on the paper. I haven’t done art in a long time and I’ve always focused too much on the small details when I had, so it was a refreshing change. The moment we received our kanji names in Japanese was also really special for me, especially because it had been created by our friends.
Omar: For me, the best part had to be learning how to draw with ink and brushes using Sentan Nouboku. I went in with no prior knowledge about what it even was and just an hour or two later, I was already drawing cute little animals with multiple brush techniques. I'm happy I was able to learn about it too because there aren't very many places out there that can teach it to you so effectively.
3) Did you gain any skills you hoped to during the orientation?
Matei: I did improve a little on my Japanese and my art/drawing (I'm still horrid, unfortunately), but I did improve, and that's something I found very enjoyable. Improving my skills and learning at the same time is something I find very comforting, and I try my best to always learn and hone my skills.
Molly: My public speaking got stronger and I am talking to more people than I usually would - everyone brings something different and I'm learning a lot from each individual.
Mekdu: I finally learnt how to count in Japanese, (and even learnt the hand signals that go with it!). We also learnt how to greet someone properly and bow to strangers, which was great because I had apparently been bowing wrong so saved me the embarrassment in the future. I also improved my confidence when talking to new people in the JYC program.
Omar: Absolutely. I feel I've gotten better at collaborative work even from the little time we spent on the orientation. I managed to improve my abilities to listen to other people and take on board what they were saying by working in groups so often while also being able to get better at art and speaking Japanese.
