Back to Nature

2024 April Back to Nature: Game Day Report

Date: April 27 & 28, 2024
Place: Sawai, Tokyo
Participants: (2-day total) 17 campers, 7 big campers, 7 LITs, 12 Mirai no Mori staff

On a pleasant spring-like day, the first activity of the 2024 fiscal year was held under the theme of “New Beginnings,” inspired by Easter.

Participants separated into teams and played a quiz game about Easter, learning new facts about the holiday that celebrates the “coming of spring” and “new birth”. Campers, who just started a brand new school year, were asked to think and present about what new things they would like to try and what kind of people they would like to become from now on. Goals included: “I want to be kind to all of my classmates by the time I graduate from elementary school,”  “I am not good at cleaning the house, so I want to get better by starting small with something I can do,” “I want to practice hard on the saxophone so that I can win the competition!”

For lunch, or as the campers love to call “Happy Time,” we all enjoyed a delicious bento lunch outside while listening to the sound of the water on the riverbank. The sun was hot, so many of us sat near the river to enjoy the light and pleasant breeze. After finishing lunch, some campers tried their hand at stone skipping, while others went on a hunt for living creatures.

The afternoon was also full of activities! We played “Stone Tower,” where teams competed in stacking stones on the riverbank, “Sneak Peak,” which required participants to challenge their memory, and an Easter version of “Capture the Flag,” which is very popular among the campers. It was a wonderful mix of teamwork, being active in nature, and exercising our brains!

As a closing activity, teams reflected on successes and challenges of the day, and did their best to write their thoughts in their journals. Some of the campers had the courage to present their impressions in front of everyone as well. 

The event ended with a loud “We did it!,” lead by three courageous campers who just joined junior high school and showed great leadership throughout the whole day.

“I always had a hard time finding the courage to make a presentation in front of everyone when I came to Mirai no Mori, but now that I am a junior high school student, I decided to challenge myself. I was able to be a leader and speak out loud with courage even in the presence of campers from other facilities, so I would like to continue to challenge various things with courage at Mirai no Mori!” by camper

“It was the first time that I ate lunch together in front of the river and it was a wonderful memory.” by camper

“I learned many things about Easter for the first time! The quiz was fun and I was happy to learn something new.” by camper

“This is the first time I joined as an LIT and I realize now how challenging this role is. I would like to work as hard as I can from now on!” by LIT

“For the first time, I was able to see leadership in action from the campers, which is unimaginable compared to what I see at the care home. I felt that Mirai no Mori is guiding the children to their best potential!” by Big Camper

“It was my first time to join Mirai no Mori and the atmosphere of everyone was very nice and for me, it was a very enjoyable place to be. Thank you very much!” by Big Camper

“Although our team came in third place in the activities, we had great teamwork and we had so much fun that we felt like winners!” by Camp Staff

Thank you so much for your ongoing support and we look forward to another event-full year ahead!