Love Japanese culture, and live or go to high school in the City of Belmont?
If that's you, we've got great news! We're on the lookout for local high school students with a keen interest in Japanese culture to join our student delegation to our sister city Adachi-ku, Tokyo in January 2024.
On this eight-day tour you will get to live with a host family and experience the unique culture of Japan.
A tour of culture, history and education
We have a sister city relationship with Adachi-ku in Tokyo, Japan, the purpose of which is to promote cultural and educational exchanges. This is why we're sending a student delegation to experience Japanese culture and customs, and we want you to be there.
You'll get to visit:
- A Japanese high school
- Historical temples and the Nakamese Market area
- The Adachi-ku/Belmont Museum
- The Tokyo Skytree.
And you'll get to:
- Take part in traditional ceremonies
- Sample a wide-range of Japanese food
- Go sightseeing with your host family.
A winter wonderland in the Uonuma mountains
Japan is known for more than just its people, culture and history; the snow-covered ski slopes and mountains are things of beauty, and need to be seen to be believed.
You'll get to visit the picturesque Uonuma mountain region for a day of:
- Toboganning and sledding in the ski fields
- Bathing in Japanese hot springs.
We'll help cover the cost
We'll cover half the cost of your airfare, while your host family will take care of your food, accommodation and transport. All you have to do is cover the other half of your airfare and bring some spending money.
Who can apply?
We're looking for high school aged students who love Japanese culture. This could be you if you're studying Japanese at school, or if you've got a passion for manga, anime, Japanese fashion, cinema, literature, art or customs.
To be eligible you must:
- Live or go to school in the City of Belmont, or have a parent who lives or pays rates in the City of Belmont
- Be 14 to 17 years old
- Have a valid passport that expires after 20 July 2024
- Be available to travel in January 2024 for ten days
- Pay 50% of the airfare (approx. $1,600) to our nominated travel agent by 31 October 2023
- Provide a reference from your principal
- Meet the criteria set out in the 2024 Sister City Student Delegation Guidelines and Nomination Form.
- Complete and return the nomination form to community.development@belmont.wa.gov.au by 5pm Sunday 3 September 2023.
Things your parents will want to know
When you tell your parents that you'd like to be part of our student delegation to Japan, they're probably going to have a few questions about safety, insurance, guardianship, finance and other things like that. A lot of that information is covered in the 2024 Sister City Student Delegation Guidelines and Nomination Form.
If they have any questions or would like to hear from the person overseeing the tour, they can contact Joel Warner, Coordinator Community Development at the City of Belmont on 9477 7141 or joel.warner@belmont.wa.gov.au.