About 400 Students from Seven Countries Visit NYK Hikawamaru
December 22, 2009
On December 15, about 400 high-school students visited NYK Hikawamaru as a part of the Japan–East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) programme, which is conducted in conjunction with AFS Japan and gives students from all over the Asia Pacific the opportunity to visit Japan. AFS Japan (www.afs.or.jp) was established in 1955 and coordinates intercultural exchanges, mainly for high-school students.
Until 1959, students who were dispatched from Japan to Seattle by AFS made the overseas trip on Hikawa Maru, which was later refurbished and renamed NYK Hikawamaru and is permanently moored today at Yokohama’s Yamashita Park.
During this month’s visit, the ship welcomed aboard students from India, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Malaysia for the opportunity to learn more about Japan’s maritime culture.
Students were able to walk within the ship’s Art Deco interior, see a replica of a first-class dinner, and enjoy the scene back in the 1930s. Some students were impressed by the endurance of the ship, which has been on the sea for 80 years, and realized the challenges to maintenance.
The NYK Group will continue to contribute to society by cooperating with international exchange programs.
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