Kelly Maluta, Community Services Coordinator for the Town has Joined the 2019 student delegation. This is their experience thus far:
“We arrived in Tokyo an hour behind schedule. All the students were really excited to be off the plane to begin their new adventure. We traveled by bus to the Haneda airport, where we checked into our hotel and then went out for dinner. It was fun to try new foods in Japan. We all went to bed early, for all of us were very tired and adjusting to the 15 hour time difference. “
“The next morning we took a flight to Obihiro, where we were picked up by the kind Town of Shikaoi staff. We rode on the official town bus to Shikaoi and were immediately greeted by residents and staff. We toured the Town Office and met the new Mayor of Shikaoi, Mayor Kii. We enjoyed our time visiting with him and meeting the rest of the Town Office staff. We then walked to the new International Exchange Centre where we enjoyed a coffee, juice and some homemade deer shaped crackers. Afterwards, we went back to the Chomin Hall (Stony Plain Hall) where we got ready for the welcome reception with Mayor, Council, board of education officials and our new host families. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of local foods and then headed home with our host families.”
“The next day (Friday), we visited the Shikaoi Shinto Shrine, Kanda Nissho Memorial Museum, tried our hand at Park Golf. We then drove up the mountain to see Lake Shikaribetsu. It was so foggy we couldn’t actually see the lake, but we still enjoyed ourselves and the footbath in the natural hot springs. We then went to the Shikaoi Tokachi Geo Park where we learned about the Tokachi area from hundreds of thousands of years ago. It was really interesting to learn about the volcanos that were in the area as well as how the river was created. We returned to the Chomin Hall where we ended our day and went home with our host families.”
“Our weekend was spent with our new families and friends. Each of us did something different; helping to get projects ready for the upcoming High School Festival, shopping in Obihiro, working in the garden and planting vegetables, attending the White Snake Festival at Lake Shikaribetsu, and touring the lavender fields of Furano.”
Stony Plain in Shikaoi 