The Educational Value of Izena Island, Revealed by Comparing Educational Travel Destinations in Okinawa

Okinawa has many places to host educational tours. Homestay, agricultural experiences, cultural learning, SDGs programs, etc., are all attractive options. But what I noticed when comparing them is that Izena Island is not just a "place to experience," but an environment where "learning happens naturally" through the experience.
It doesn't end with fun and interesting. There is a flow in the island time that allows students to feel "something" within themselves, to put it into words, and to take action.

Though it is an experience-based program, "thinking" starts to move naturally.

On educational trips to Izena Island, there are many opportunities here and there for experiences to turn into "learning. Playing the sanshin (Okinawan guitar), plowing the fields, cooking. All of these experiences are full of questions such as, "Why are you doing this? How is this different from how I live? They all bring out the realization of "Why am I doing this? Even without special questions or design, the interaction with the host and the lifestyle behind the experience itself will naturally push the student's "thinking switch. This is why the program is a place where "the ability to think" can be developed without difficulty.

Because "the community and learning are connected," the learning is compelling.

In other regions, facilities and experience programs prepared for educational tours often dominate. On Izena Island, by contrast, the experience itself is rooted in the daily life of the community. The fields you visit are where the hosts work every day. The sanshin (Okinawan three-stringed instrument) is taught by a person who actually performs at local celebrations. In other words, the learning is "real. It is not a "made-up learning" but a "learning that is an extension of daily life," which is why it is so compelling to the students. That's what makes it so compelling.

Interacting with others turns the learning effect into a 'personal thing'/h2>.

On Izena Island, students are very close to people. Living together with hosts, interacting with the local community, and in dialogue with teachers, students naturally begin to think and express themselves in their own words. It is not "what they have learned," but "what they have realized in themselves."

This process is the major key to transforming a mere experience into 'learning. From an educational perspective, this is a state in which "independent learning" occurs naturally. This is exactly the direction that education is aiming for today.

Educational Trips to Izena Island, Where the "Cycle of Learning" is Born

Students experience, feel, think, talk, reflect, and move again.

The amazing thing about Izena Island is that this "cycle of learning" flows naturally. Even without the teachers' intention, the students' "ability to continue learning" is drawn out through the power of the place and the relationships between people. Even after returning from the trip, glimpses of growth can be seen in the reports and impressions. It can be said that Izena Island is a genuine place that nurtures "the ability to think" in the field of educational travel.