We visited Nishinomiyahama Compulsory Education School’s “Try-Yaru Week” activities on Friday, May 20.

This day was Day 5 of “Try-Yaru Week” activities (the final day). How were the students spending their time?

I’ll say this first.

Every site was seriously impressive!

What is “Try-Yaru Week”?

Nishitsu visited the following five activity sites this time. They were all different types of workplaces, but both the businesses and the students were giving it everything they had! Some scenes were so moving you could hardly watch without tearing up〜😭

• Nishinomiya Fire Department
• MINISTOP Nishinomiya Marina Park Store
• Co-op Kobe Co-op Marina Park
• Nishinomiya Shell Museum
• Nishinomiya Shrine

Now, let’s take a look at each one〜!

Nishinomiya Fire Department

At the Nishinomiya Fire Department training facility in Koshienhama, students were in the middle of firefighting training. Those hoses look heavy〜💦

The fireproof gear they wear is also quite heavy, but when a dispatch call comes in, firefighters apparently change in about 40 seconds, and one minute later they are already getting into the fire truck. The students were trying it too. It’s like, “Get ready in 40 seconds!”〜（Real-life Laputa vibes〜）

Next up was training for rescuing people at a fire scene. In the heat and smoke, where they could barely see anything, they had to search by touch for a citizen who had collapsed and rescue them. Sweat was dripping from the foreheads of the students as they took it seriously💧

And the training kept going after that! It was a site that once again filled us with gratitude for the firefighters who train every day to protect the safety and peace of mind of local residents〜!

MINISTOP Nishinomiya Marina Park Store

This was work at a convenience store, something familiar to everyone〜! Here, they were pulling products forward. So this is why convenience store shelves always look so neatly arranged〜! One student told us, “When the same product is lined up in two rows, the items with the shorter expiration dates go in the right-hand row.”

At the register and in the back room, their movements already looked just like familiar store staff〜! By the end, we couldn’t tell who was a student and who was an actual staff member（Before I knew it, I was taking photos of the real staff〜💦）.

Co-op Kobe Co-op Marina Park

They were stocking products〜. They were already so quick at opening cardboard boxes😆! Finding where to put the products they took out of the boxes seemed to be the tricky part〜💦

In the back room, they were putting labels on products〜. At that moment, they were sticking labels on vegetables and mushrooms. There are so many steps before products make it onto the sales floor〜. Wow, we’re grateful〜😂

We also got a little glimpse from afar of their super lively after-lunch break👀 It seemed that on the afternoon of the final day, they would be allowed to do the job they wanted. “What do you want to do this afternoon〜?” “I want the register!😆” “Whaaat? I want the register too〜! We’re overlapping〜😫” That conversation had everyone cracking up😂（Can you feel the atmosphere? They looked like they were having so much fun!）

Nishinomiya Shell Museum

They were making the contents for the capsule toy machine sold inside the museum〜! Apparently, each capsule contains 10 types of shells and an explanatory leaflet. Cutting the paper neatly in the right places looked surprisingly difficult…

Here, they were doing the patient work of cleaning dirt off shells. Using something like a paintbrush, they quietly worked through a large number of shells. After this, they were going to start preparing for the next day’s May 21 event, “Let’s Look at Plankton.” Busy〜💦💦💦

Nishinomiya Shrine

They cleaned the shrine grounds, sold omikuji fortune slips, and on top of that, practiced a ceremonial dance. This was the day they presented the results of their practice〜.

It was truly impressive〜🎉 The two students had fully memorized a dance and song lasting a little over five minutes and performed it confidently. Visitors who had come to pray probably had no idea they were students〜😙

Nishinomiya City is looking for businesses to host Try-Yaru Week activities

Nishinomiya City is recruiting host businesses so that students can take part in activities at local workplaces. Business owners who think, “Maybe we can help,” or “Maybe we can support children’s futures,” please take a look here〜! Nishitsu hopes to go cover it again next year〜!

→Nishinomiya City “Try-Yaru Week” Business Bank Register Here

Businesses currently accepting students have flags like this displayed〜（the school name shown is the name of the school they are hosting）.

Finally

We covered five sites this time, and the students at every location looked so lively and engaged! It may still be a while before they enter society. But spending this week away from school and getting deeply involved in work in the community where they usually live must have been a valuable experience（Adults would want to try it too!）. It was a day that made us sincerely feel, “We hope the children growing up in Nishinomiya and the businesses of Nishinomiya become even more energized”😊 Great work to all the students of the compulsory education school〜!