On November 20, 2023, international and Japanese students experienced together a sake brewery tour at Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. as a fieldwork of the course, Niigata University G-code subject “Intercultural Collaborative Learning B: Cross Cultural Understanding through the Collaborative Learning with International Students (Registration: 230G3742)” (*1) offered by International Education Center, Institute of Education and Student Affairs, Niigata University (Faculty in charge: MENG Yun, Ph.D., Associate Professor of International Education Center).

Students were receiving an explanation from Mr. OKADA, Chief Executive Officer,
at Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd..

The lectures were held over five weeks.
On the first week, students learned about sake brewing, product development and existing inbound business from Mr. OKADA Toru, Chief Executive Officer of Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.. On the second week, students actually experienced the existing inbound business, a sake brewery tour. From the third to the fifth week, students had group discussions on the issue “How to show Niigata’s charm, Japanese sake and its culture to the world, make more and more foreign tourists visit Niigata, and then promote the internationalization of Niigata.” Students engaged in active discussions, exchanges of ideas and presentations. Then, they were eager to propose new inbound businesses for Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd..
It was a valuable opportunity to think about Niigata and regional issues concerning “Multicultural Symbiotic Societies and Internationalization.
These lectures were co-hosted with Sakeology Center under the cooperation of JETRO.

(*1) It is a course that students both from Niigata and various other universities -both within Japan and abroad- will study and discuss university and regional issues concerning “Multicultural Symbiotic Societies.” Leveraging PBL (Problem-based/Project-based Learning) methodologies, participants will embark on diverse project activities to discern and propose solutions. The course is offered during the 3rd period on Mondays of the 3rd and 4th terms.

The scene of the lectures will be broadcast on “NST News Touch” of NST (Niigata Sogo Television, Co., Ltd.) from 6:09 PM to 7 PM on December 22 (Fri). (*The date and time may be subject to change.)
【Postscript】The program was broadcast on December 25 (Mon). Please click here to view. (*The linked website is in Japanese.)