Spend a winter day in Nishinomiya making your very own treasure.
A day camp for 2nd to 6th graders, “Katanakaji Camp,” is taking on the challenge this winter of making a nail knife from a 5-sun nail.
Here it is↓
Heat a 5-sun nail over charcoal fire, then hammer it, hammer it, and make a knife! Doesn’t that sound like an experience where you’ve slipped back in time to an ancient forge?
Under the policy of “We don’t say ‘no’ unless someone’s life is in danger or someone might get hurt,” they provide an environment where children can grow through mistakes and challenges.
Event details are here.
Schedule
Saturday, December 6, 2025, 8:30–18:00
- 【Bus】Staff-supervised…Meet at 8:30 at the south rotary of Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station / Dismissal at 18:00 at the same rotary
- 【On-site】Drop-off and pick-up by guardians…Meet at CLUB NISHINOMIYA at 10:30 / Pick-up at 16:30
Take the Sakura Yamanami Bus → get off at Funasaka-bashi → walk to the site (about 20 minutes)
The Activity Takes Place in Funasaka, Nishinomiya
CLUB NISHINOMIYA（Club Nishinomiya Campground）
1826-1 Funasaka, Yamaguchi-cho, Nishinomiya
Fee and Program
Ages: 2nd to 6th grade elementary school students (because the difficulty level is high)
- Make a nail knife by heating a 5-sun nail over charcoal fire and hammering it! Hammering it again!!
- Campfire, exploration, treehouse, and other free play
It’s packed with experiences kids can’t usually do on their own.
Fee and Day Schedule
- Participation fee: 9,800 yen
- Application period: From 10:00 on 11/8 (Sat)
The Day Looks Like This
- 【Bus group】8:30 Meet at Nishikita Rotary → check-in → Sakura Yamanami Bus → to Funasaka
- 【On-site group】10:30 Meet on site → program begins once everyone has arrived
- Nail knife making / fire-starting → lunch → finishing touches → free play
- 16:30 On-site pick-up / 18:00 Dismissal at Nishikita Rotary
How to Apply
Applications are through the official LINE account↓
- Add “Katanakaji Camp Official LINE” as a friend
- Send the keyword 「かたなさんか」 (in hiragana) in the chat → the application form will appear
- Submit the form → after staff confirm it, you’ll receive a LINE message saying your registration is complete（it’s not an auto-reply, so please wait a bit）
※Cancellation fees apply even if payment has not yet been made. If you no longer plan to participate, please be sure to contact them.
The Big Brothers and Sisters Supporting the Camp
- もっちぃ（Representative Director of じゆう時間）…Level 1 Camp Director / Outdoor Instructor / Childcare Worker, etc.
- めめたん（旅するがっこうCHEMCHEM）…Level 2 Camp Director / Childcare Worker / After-school Children’s Support Staff
- よんちゃん（Owner of CLUB NISHINOMIYA）…Venue cooperation and safety support
Comments from Parents
In the past, they’ve offered all kinds of really fun experiences like river play, fire-starting, bamboo barbecues, and midsummer late-night camps. Here are just a few comments from parents.
The little bottle with obsidian in it became a treasure for the children.
Thank you so much for giving them experiences they can’t easily have at home🙇♀️ I’m so glad they were able to take part in this camp🥺
Obsidian, as in the stuff from Minecraft, right? So they’ve done that kind of thing in the past too.
For details about this event, please see here.
Finally
Funasaka in winter sounds pretty cold, so the warmth of the charcoal fire seems like it would feel really nice. If they can make a knife that actually cuts, that must feel great. It’s a pretty rare one-day experience where you can get a condensed taste of ancient blacksmithing. If you’re interested, spots are first-come, first-served, so be quick.
※This is a “Nishitsu Event PR” article. Companies and organizations interested in having an article like this written can find details here!
