School of Fun for Children in Fukushima

Please find a Japanese version of this report here.

Using the first three-day weekend of November in Japan, we held a physical camp—its name is a bit long, but officially it’s called Academy Camp 2025 Autumn: “You Make the Rules! Autumn Show Sports Festival ~ Break the Established Concepts / Out-of-Bounds Jamboree.” The camp took place in Fukushima for the first time in a while! Fifteen children from Tohoku and Kanto participated in this camp, where they thought about rule-making while moving and using their own bodies.

At the camp held on the site of a closed-down elementary school, the children began by playing basketball and then thought about how they could change its rules to make the game more fun and inclusive. They came up with new sports rules that broke away from conventional ideas.

Although each team ultimately chose one new set of rules to play for the final matches—so not every idea was used—one of the interesting ideas that came up along the way was a type of volleyball where you must let the ball bounce once before passing or attacking. It’s a sport that can be played and enjoyed strategically, even by those without exceptional physical abilities or prior volleyball experience.

The children wrote down and summarized their rules on paper, actually played their new games, reflected on them, and made improvements—it was a camp that used not only their bodies but also their minds to the fullest.

In the end, they played a game of tag combined with basketball. Everyone ran from the “it” while screaming, shot the ball to rescue captured teammates, and had an incredibly fun and lively time together.

On the final day, there was a special bonus activity: exploring the Abukuma Cave. The children refreshed themselves amid the magnificent natural surroundings and promised to meet again at the next camp.

Links:

• Academy Camp Facebook page in English