Date: November, 1, 2026
Place:  Ome, Tokyo
Participants: 12 campers, 3 LITs, 6 care workers, 2 sponsors, 3 partners, 11 Mirai no Mori staff
Sponsor: Robert Half
Partner: Sakamoto Hiroyuki from SRS Boxing Gym

We held our first Back to Nature program in November on a sunny and lively day in Mitake, where campers from three care homes and sponsors from Robert Half got together for fun games and a boxing lesson with the legendary boxer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, known for his powerful knockouts and inspirational career, despite coming from a difficult personal background.

The day began with orientation, where a quiz helped break the ice and introduced our theme for the day, and teams chose their boxing-themed names. Some campers joined us after a long time and showed so much excitement about being back, as well as a sponsor volunteer who was also a repeater, both at Mirai no Mori and at boxing! 

Next, teams bonded over fun outdoor games that created the mood for boxing, testing their agility, strength and coordination. Back indoors, we played games of coordination and strength, with a twist: each team played every game twice, once in silence and once with lots of cheering from everyone. It was impressive what a difference it made to their energy! Throughout this program, we wanted to share the positive cycle of cheering: we want to cheer for someone who is doing their best, and we want to keep going because someone is cheering for us. 

In the afternoon, we welcomed Hiroyuki Sakamoto, the Heisei K.O. King and founder of SRS Boxing Gym, for the highlight of the day: a boxing lesson. Firstly, “Sakamocchan,” as the campers call him, introduced his story. He grew up in a care home in Fukuoka and became an inspiration and role model for children from his institution throughout his boxing career. Now a gym owner, he continues to support children and young adults from similar backgrounds, and his partnership with Mirai no Mori has lasted almost ten years. 

“Hearing about his story and his persistence brought tears to my eyes. It was very inspiring” (LIT)

The day’s lesson was made of two challenges – to practice different punches, and to try punching nonstop for a whole minute! Despite the last challenge being harder than most expected, campers of all ages tried and felt motivated to go more than once, as the whole group cheered them on and the trainers receiving their punches encouraged them to keep going.

“There were many amazing moments when I could see the campers resisting the urge to give up because everyone was cheering them on. That’s something I wanted them to learn today.” (Program Partner)

 We closed the day by reflecting on our experiences with Mirai no Mori’s prompts: NEW, YAY, IMPACT, and HMM… NEXT TIME!

“My hand slipped sometimes, but I kept going!” (Camper, Grade 4)

“I didn’t try the boxing challenges last year, but this year I tried them and it was fun!” (Camper, Grade 6)

From LITs to campers, many young participants shared how surprised they were at themselves and at what they can do when they are cheered on. Thank you to Robert Half for making this program possible, and to Hiroyuki Sakamoto and members of the SRS Boxing Gym for sharing their time and heart with our youth. And thank you for always believing in them and cheering them on along with us!