Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Welcomes Over 10,000 Training Camp Visitors Annually: "Sports x Learning x Experience Program" PR Video Released!
Shibushi City has launched a new PR video for its "Sports x Learning x Experience Program," which integrates athletic training with local cultural experiences and educational opportunities. Developed in collaboration with Hokusho High School, the program aims to foster personal growth and career perspective alongside athletic development.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 31, 2026 at 23:26
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 01:06 (1h 40m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 2, 2026 at 13:02 (1499h 55m after Collected)
The Shibushi City Sports Organization Attraction Promotion Association serves as the secretariat for attracting sports and cultural training camps and tournaments, which Shibushi City promotes as part of its tourism strategy. To further promote these camps, the association has leveraged the city's developing sports facilities and hospitality initiatives to create a unique attraction plan: the "Sports Training Camp x Learning x Experience" (commonly known as the "Spo-Gaku Experience Program"). This program goes beyond the sole objective of improving athletic performance by incorporating experiential tourism that engages with local industry and culture, peace education, and exchange programs with companies and schools in the Kansai (Suminoe Ward) region, connected via the Ferry Sunflower.
To showcase this, we produced a PR video featuring the baseball and men's soccer teams from the sports department of Hokusho High School in Otaru City, Hokkaido, as they experienced the program. The video was created to convey the appeal of the program in an engaging way, with the goal of increasing the number of training camps in Shibushi City and improving the city's image regarding these camps.
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## The Spo-Gaku Experience Program started with a single comment from a coach...
Previously, Shibushi City had been attracting sports camps by leveraging its mild climate and convenient access from the Kansai region. To maximize this appeal, we focused on attracting schools in Eastern and Northern Japan that cannot practice during the winter due to snow. During a visit to Hokusho High School in Otaru, Hokkaido, the coach remarked, "Since we are going to the trouble of holding a training camp in Shibushi City, I want the students to gain some kind of realization or experience that will benefit their future through the region of Shibushi, rather than just focusing on improving their athletic skills." This comment served as the catalyst for the "Spo-Gaku Experience Program," which comprehensively integrates sports training, learning, and experience.
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### Tripartite Cooperation Agreement between Shibushi City, Suminoe Ward (Osaka City), and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ferry Sunflower
The "Tripartite Cooperation Agreement for Friendly Exchange between Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture, and Suminoe Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ferry Sunflower," concluded in April 2025, has dramatically improved access from the Kansai region. Under this tripartite cooperation framework, the potential to attract groups from distant areas using the Kansai region as a base has expanded, creating a multifaceted learning environment where students can improve their athletic performance while contemplating their own futures.
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## The Spo-Gaku Experience Program: Facing Yourself and Broadening Your Career Horizons (Examples)
### Learning and Experiencing in Kansai
Experience and tours at the "MIZUNO ENGINE" innovation center at Mizuno Corporation. By listening to the voices of people working in sports-related fields, students can broaden their perspectives on career choices, such as university advancement or employment after graduation. A workshop on upcycling was also held, utilizing scrap materials from the baseball glove manufacturing process that would otherwise have been discarded.
### Knowing, Learning, and Experiencing Shibushi
Time spent engaging with local daily life, specialty products, and industries. In Shibushi, the training camp location, students can learn how ingredients are grown and how they relate to people's lives. By touching upon the rich culture and local industries outside the playing field, students foster an attachment to the region and develop their human potential. A tour of an eel farm allowed them to learn about the efforts and passion of the producers of Shibushi's specialty eel, as well as the characteristics of the region.
### Learning and Experiencing in Neighboring Municipalities
Peace education that encourages "thinking" rather than just being "taught" from textbooks and materials. By understanding the inner voices and emotions that cannot be learned from books alone, students can foster an awareness of cherishing their daily lives while reflecting on the preciousness of peace and the happiness of the everyday from their own perspectives. During the Pacific War, Kanoya City had three airfields and holds the history of being the site from which the most kamikaze units departed in Japan. It was a time for students to learn that young people of their own age became signposts for peace.
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## A Sports Training Camp PR Video Filled with the Thoughts of Many
### "A work born from human connections"
Why travel from a distant land to Shibushi? How do the encounters and learning found there change the inner lives of the athletes? This video is truly a work born from human connections. A sports camp in Shibushi is not just a time to improve physical strength and technique. By meeting people, experiencing the region, thinking, and feeling, the heart is also nurtured. I believe that the accumulation of such experiences leads not only to improved athletic performance but also to the life that follows. Through this video, I hope that as many people as possible will understand the value of sports camps in Shibushi City and the appeal of the "learning" and "encounters" that can only be found here.
### "Infusing the song with the wonderful environment of Shibushi and the warmth of the townspeople"
Just imagining how the time spent cultivating skills during a sports camp in Shibushi City will become food for everyone's life beyond the "choice of a life true to oneself" is exciting! As someone born and raised in Shibushi, I wanted to infuse the song with the wonderful environment of Shibushi and the warmth of the townspeople, so I brainstormed the lyrics with my eldest daughter, Shinon* (18). I believe that the experiences and memories spent with teammates in Shibushi City will lead you beyond the dreams you are aiming for! I will continue to support everyone who "shines in their own way" through the power of music!
---
## In Closing...
We have created both long and short versions of the Shibushi City sports camp PR video. We plan to post them on the websites of the Shibushi City Tourism and Specialty Products Association, the official Shibushi City YouTube channel, social media, camp attraction sites, and Shibushi City fan sites, as well as screen them at event venues. We hope that through training camps and the Spo-Gaku Experience Program in Shibushi City, the realizations, broadened perspectives, new encounters, and discoveries will serve as catalysts to make your future life even richer.
---
## Contact Information
Shibushi City Sports Organization Attraction Promotion Association
2-28-11 Shibushi-cho Shibushi, Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture 899-7103
TEL: 099-472-8028 / 090-1246-5218
FAX: 099-473-2345
Email: sports@sibusi-k-t.jp
Instagram: @sports_shibushi
https://www.instagram.com/sports_shibushi?igsh=MTlrazJqY3ZyZWQ4Zw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
To showcase this, we produced a PR video featuring the baseball and men's soccer teams from the sports department of Hokusho High School in Otaru City, Hokkaido, as they experienced the program. The video was created to convey the appeal of the program in an engaging way, with the goal of increasing the number of training camps in Shibushi City and improving the city's image regarding these camps.
---
## The Spo-Gaku Experience Program started with a single comment from a coach...
Previously, Shibushi City had been attracting sports camps by leveraging its mild climate and convenient access from the Kansai region. To maximize this appeal, we focused on attracting schools in Eastern and Northern Japan that cannot practice during the winter due to snow. During a visit to Hokusho High School in Otaru, Hokkaido, the coach remarked, "Since we are going to the trouble of holding a training camp in Shibushi City, I want the students to gain some kind of realization or experience that will benefit their future through the region of Shibushi, rather than just focusing on improving their athletic skills." This comment served as the catalyst for the "Spo-Gaku Experience Program," which comprehensively integrates sports training, learning, and experience.
---
### Tripartite Cooperation Agreement between Shibushi City, Suminoe Ward (Osaka City), and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ferry Sunflower
The "Tripartite Cooperation Agreement for Friendly Exchange between Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture, and Suminoe Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ferry Sunflower," concluded in April 2025, has dramatically improved access from the Kansai region. Under this tripartite cooperation framework, the potential to attract groups from distant areas using the Kansai region as a base has expanded, creating a multifaceted learning environment where students can improve their athletic performance while contemplating their own futures.
---
## The Spo-Gaku Experience Program: Facing Yourself and Broadening Your Career Horizons (Examples)
### Learning and Experiencing in Kansai
Experience and tours at the "MIZUNO ENGINE" innovation center at Mizuno Corporation. By listening to the voices of people working in sports-related fields, students can broaden their perspectives on career choices, such as university advancement or employment after graduation. A workshop on upcycling was also held, utilizing scrap materials from the baseball glove manufacturing process that would otherwise have been discarded.
### Knowing, Learning, and Experiencing Shibushi
Time spent engaging with local daily life, specialty products, and industries. In Shibushi, the training camp location, students can learn how ingredients are grown and how they relate to people's lives. By touching upon the rich culture and local industries outside the playing field, students foster an attachment to the region and develop their human potential. A tour of an eel farm allowed them to learn about the efforts and passion of the producers of Shibushi's specialty eel, as well as the characteristics of the region.
### Learning and Experiencing in Neighboring Municipalities
Peace education that encourages "thinking" rather than just being "taught" from textbooks and materials. By understanding the inner voices and emotions that cannot be learned from books alone, students can foster an awareness of cherishing their daily lives while reflecting on the preciousness of peace and the happiness of the everyday from their own perspectives. During the Pacific War, Kanoya City had three airfields and holds the history of being the site from which the most kamikaze units departed in Japan. It was a time for students to learn that young people of their own age became signposts for peace.
---
## A Sports Training Camp PR Video Filled with the Thoughts of Many
### "A work born from human connections"
Why travel from a distant land to Shibushi? How do the encounters and learning found there change the inner lives of the athletes? This video is truly a work born from human connections. A sports camp in Shibushi is not just a time to improve physical strength and technique. By meeting people, experiencing the region, thinking, and feeling, the heart is also nurtured. I believe that the accumulation of such experiences leads not only to improved athletic performance but also to the life that follows. Through this video, I hope that as many people as possible will understand the value of sports camps in Shibushi City and the appeal of the "learning" and "encounters" that can only be found here.
### "Infusing the song with the wonderful environment of Shibushi and the warmth of the townspeople"
Just imagining how the time spent cultivating skills during a sports camp in Shibushi City will become food for everyone's life beyond the "choice of a life true to oneself" is exciting! As someone born and raised in Shibushi, I wanted to infuse the song with the wonderful environment of Shibushi and the warmth of the townspeople, so I brainstormed the lyrics with my eldest daughter, Shinon* (18). I believe that the experiences and memories spent with teammates in Shibushi City will lead you beyond the dreams you are aiming for! I will continue to support everyone who "shines in their own way" through the power of music!
---
## In Closing...
We have created both long and short versions of the Shibushi City sports camp PR video. We plan to post them on the websites of the Shibushi City Tourism and Specialty Products Association, the official Shibushi City YouTube channel, social media, camp attraction sites, and Shibushi City fan sites, as well as screen them at event venues. We hope that through training camps and the Spo-Gaku Experience Program in Shibushi City, the realizations, broadened perspectives, new encounters, and discoveries will serve as catalysts to make your future life even richer.
---
## Contact Information
Shibushi City Sports Organization Attraction Promotion Association
2-28-11 Shibushi-cho Shibushi, Shibushi City, Kagoshima Prefecture 899-7103
TEL: 099-472-8028 / 090-1246-5218
FAX: 099-473-2345
Email: sports@sibusi-k-t.jp
Instagram: @sports_shibushi
https://www.instagram.com/sports_shibushi?igsh=MTlrazJqY3ZyZWQ4Zw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr