On the afternoons of September 16 and 17, two delegations from Japan visited Tamkang University in succession: 16 faculty members and students from the National Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu College (Kitakyushu KOSEN) and six faculty members and students from Tottori University of Environmental Studies (TUES). Faculty and students from the Department of Japanese organized their customary relaxed Taiwan-Japan student exchange activities to welcome the Japanese visitors. Students from both sides interacted face-to-face and exchanged souvenirs, building friendly bridges for cross-border learning.

Kitakyushu KOSEN visits Taiwan every six months for industry-academia exchanges, and Tamkang University is regularly included as one of its stops. Exchange discussions with Tamkang faculty and students have become a regular part of the itinerary. After opening remarks by Department of Japanese Chair Tomita Akira, alumnus Hsu-Chen Chang, who has assisted with the event on several occasions, introduced Tamsui’s approximately 400-year history and explained the origin of its former name, “Hobe.” The Japanese visitors also shared information about their school’s distinctive educational system and Kitakyushu's unique features. During a 70-minute group discussion, students from the two institutions talked about topics ranging from their favorite anime to future career plans. Kitakyushu National College of Technology Vice President Abe Tsutomu also encouraged students to take the opportunity to practice their spoken Japanese. At the end of the event, Abe thanked Tamkang for warm hospitality, bringing the first day of exchanges to a successful close.

This marked TUES’ first exchange visit to Tamkang University. In addition to introducing their campus, the students presented popular tourist attractions such as the Tottori Sand Dunes, the Shirakabe Storehouses, and Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato, famous for the manga character GeGeGe no Kitaro. They also enthusiastically introduced premium Matsuba crab, which can fetch prices as high as 5 million yen each, as well as the popular Shirobara Milk. While sharing their university experiences, the Japanese students jokingly noted that, as seniors, they had only one class per week and often woke up at 10 a.m. They also shared their experiences working part-time at Starbucks and the joys and challenges of living alone. During the open discussion, topics ranged from “Why do you want to learn Japanese?” to the motto “Failure is the mother of success.” The Japanese students also mentioned that they had noticed Taiwanese people tying the plastic straw wrapper around the straw when drinking beverages to prevent it from blowing away, praising the practice as both thoughtful and charming. The event concluded with remarks by Professor Cheng-Hua Yu of TUES, who expressed hopes for continued exchanges between the two universities. The gathering ended successfully amid laughter and lively conversation.

Yun-Han Lai, a second-year student in the Department of Japanese who participated in the exchange, shared that this was her first cultural exchange experience with Japanese students. She was initially somewhat nervous and worried that her Japanese proficiency might not be sufficient. However, she gradually relaxed during the conversations and discovered that chatting with Japanese students was actually very enjoyable. The experience gave her a clearer picture of her Japanese proficiency and made her realize that even familiar vocabulary could sometimes be difficult to recall in actual conversation. The exchange not only deepened her understanding of Japanese culture but also motivated her to continue learning Japanese. Fellow second-year student Li-Che Chang explained that he rarely had opportunities to speak directly with Japanese people, so he wanted to make the most of the occasion to improve his spoken Japanese. After participating in both days of exchanges, he was particularly impressed by the friendliness of the students from both Japanese institutions and the courtesy they demonstrated in conversation.