My internship took place in Japan, at Kanazawa University from 2 to 21 July. The purpose of the trip was acquaintance with the culture of Japan, as well as studying the system of biosphere reserves. Our group had a very eventful program, but I will tell you about the most interesting things for me.

The first thing I want to tell you about this visit is the two traditional villages of Gokayama and Shirakawa-go. Both villages have the status of a world cultural heritage of UNESCO. This is an amazing example of preserving the traditional way of life of Japanese villages and developing tourism activities. Despite their apparent similarity, there are differences. Despite their apparent similarity, there are differences. Gokayama is a smaller village with an undeveloped tourist system like that of Shirakawa-go. In Gokayama, people lead a more closed way of life from tourists.

Gokayama

Gokayama

Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go

The second interesting place I visited was the village of Shiramine. Despite the problems with the aging of the population and the outflow of youth, the village maintains its traditions. One such tradition is the Hakusan Festival. The festival takes two days. On the first day, the deity descends from Mount Hakusan. Men in national costumes carry a stretcher, and the people cheer them up. On the second day a man brings fresh water on a huge sledge to the village, for which in ancient times the four prefectures around Mount Hakusan waged constant wars. In addition to these traditions, the creative teams of the city. This is a very interesting and cheerful holiday. I am glad that I managed to visit Shiramine during this festival.

Hakusan festival. Day 2

Hakusan festival. Day 1

National costume

The last thing I would like to tell you is that I got the experience of interethnic communication, increased my level of English and met very interesting people from different countries such as Japan, Australia, Germany, Hungary, Thailand, Vietnam. I was very glad that despite the borders between our countries and the language barrier, we could communicate almost without feeling obstacles. I hope we can continue our communication.

In conclusion, I want to express my great gratitude to Kanazawa University for the opportunity to get acquainted with the culture of Japan, meet people from other countries and get the knowledge and skills necessary for my professional work.