Home   >   City Life   >   The great outdoors

The great outdoors

By on June 1, 2008

When school’s out and the heat kicks in, it’s the perfect season to venture out of the city to be one with nature. It’s all the better when you get to do it with your buddies! So put down those video games (for now!) and pack your bags–make those memories at summer camp!

The YMCA provides several camping programs, from brisk day camps to action-packed two-week camps. Filled with fun activities, the camps will give kids a change of scenery and a fresh group of people to be around. Mom and Dad need not worry either, because it’s a great way to let their kids experience new and positive things. In addition to building fresh friendships, kids will also pick up new skills with the camps’ sessions, some of which center on sports, arts, academics, leadership, or teen adventures. Best of all, campers get to explore some of the best natural sceneryw in Japan! At the Yamanaka Camp, the famous Mount Fuji and the Yamanaka Lake greet the kids, letting them soak in their beauty completely. If you’re in it for the long haul, the Nojiri Camp keeps the kids busy with two full weeks of new experiences, which includes archery, canoeing, and yachting, among others.

Sports Camp of America offers a one-of-a-kind camping experience to kids in Japan. What kind, you ask? SCOA’s co-founder J.R. Best says it all.

WHAT KIND OF CAMP IS IT?

SCOA is a two-night, three-day camp that gives kids an American summer camp experience without leaving Japan. The campers play sports, cheer dance and other American camp games and activities with American camp counselors.

HOW DOES YOUR CAMP DIFFER FROM OTHER PROGRAMS?

SCOA is the only sports camp in Japan conducted in English, and the American camp counselors are what makes SCOA special. They are selected through SCOA’s internship program to come to Japan specifically for our summer camp. They come here for the experience. All the counselors are athletes who played sports or cheerleading in high school or college. The head sports counselor this year is Reggie Robertson, former quarterback for UC Berkeley who was signed by the Oakland Raiders and played in NFL Europe. The head cheer dance counselor is Kristin Egusa, captain of the Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team. The camp counselors selected this year are energetic, fun, and responsible.

WHAT IS THE CAMP’S PHILOSOPHY?

We want to bring international and Japanese students together so they can experience each other’s culture and expand their horizons through the universal language of sports.

WHO ATTENDS SUMMER CAMP PROGRAMS?

The camp is open to international and Japanese students from 2nd grade through junior high school. 1st graders are welcome if accompanied by an older sibling.

AT WHAT AGE DO STUDENTS BENEFIT MOST?

All the kids who attend the camp benefit!

WHAT LEARNING SKILLS DO YOU COVER AT  YOUR SUMMER CAMP?

For those campers who have been practicing flag football or cheer dance, there will be advanced level lessons available from former and current professionals.

WHAT KIND OF SUPERVISION IS PROVIDED?

In addition to the American camp counselors, bilingual Japanese camp counselors are on hand to assist. The ratio of campers-to-counselors is 5-to-1.

WHERE IS THE CAMP LOCATED?

SCOA has camps in two locations.  Beginning July 21, we will hold four camp sessions in Kiyosato, Yamanashi prefecture, which is located in the mountains, three hours west of Tokyo. One camp session beginning August 3 will be held in the beach city of Kamogawa, Chiba prefecture.

WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR?

We believe this is a great opportunity for kids in the expat and international community in Tokyo to get to know and become friends with Japanese kids. This is the first year we are promoting it to the expat and international kids on a full scale.

DOES SCOA OFFER OTHER PROGRAMS?

We just finished our first family weekend camp for preschoolers to 3rd graders and their mothers in Kiyosato. We hired a ranger and went on nature hike and learned a lot about animals, nature and edible plants. Our plan is to do these weekend family camps regularly and we definitely want the international community to participate. Especially being an expat, you don’t have a lot of opportunities to really get to know Japanese and become friends. We believe our family camps will be a great opportunity for that.

So what are you waiting for? Venture into the great outdoors for some fun in the sun–after all, summer only comes once a year!

SCOA

Tel: (03) 6914-5528

info@scoacamp.com

www.scoacamp.com

TOKYO YMCA

Yamate Center: (03) 3202-0323

Setagaya Center: (03) 3420-5361

Toyocho Center: (03) 3615-5566

Kunitachi Center: (042) 577-6181

http://tokyo.ymca.or.jp/camp/summercamp/

(Japanese only)

About TF Tribe