Spirit 'wa' and ski -memory on the slopes of kamoidake

Jakarta – Like a debut that doesn’t always go smoothly, the first experience on the snow is full of the moment of shaking and slipping. We swung while we fall many times. But on the white Kamoidake snow, however, the lesson came more than just ski -playing, we felt the warmth in the spirit of wagon inherent in the lives of Japanese people. We felt that experience when we participated in the Japan East Asia network of exchange for students and youth’s (Jenesys) cultural exchange programs that took place on January 28 to February 4, 2025. We live this ski session with Japanese citizens who are the adopted families in Takikawa, Hokkaido. The meeting with the adoptive family is one of the series of Jenesys activities to understand the lives of locals more closely and to celebrate Indonesian and Japanese friendship. The meeting of the host family of our meeting began at the ‘Minkuru’ City Development Center building. Once we enter the room, the appearance in our eyes is immediately stuck on the left wing of the room. Residents of different age groups waiting for the event have begun. Then we sat face to face face to face and prepared us to greet the adopted family. Browse to continue with the content of the event and then opened with a remark from representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Center (Jice). Subsequently, representatives from Jenesys participants conveyed impressions and messages. Laughter was occasionally heard, although there was a slight break because they had to wait for the translation. We laughed only, they followed after the meaning was delivered. This year’s participants in Jenesys consisted of media representatives, young diplomats and employees of the local government. As a representative of AFP, I group with three other participants: two of the media and two of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. The meeting with the host family in the Jenesys program on February 1, 2025 (Photo: Kanavino/Detikcom) when it was our turn to introduce himself, as well as to introduce the name of the adopted family, an old man stands from the left of the room and blows to us. He is Kazuo Koro. After the introduction event, Kazuo immediately approached us. We are grateful because Kazuo can speak English, so communication goes smoothly, if we are not smooth in Japanese. “Have you ever played skiing? Why don’t we just play skiing,” Kazuo said. We rushed to drive Kazuo’s car. During the trip, we exchanged stories and explained our respective work. We also finally found out that Kazuo had previously received Jenesys participants from different countries. Before long, we arrived at Kazuo’s house. The house is minimalist, multilevel and similar to other typical Japanese residences that we encounter in Takikawa. In front of his house there is a small tent to store a bike. We then sat in the living room as we waited for Kazuo to prepare the need to play ski. He went back and forth to prepare equipment while serving sweet potatoes and tofu full of sweet seasoning. Later we found out, the food is called Inari sushi. Food at Kazuo Koro’s house photo: Kanavino/Detikcom after eating lights, we leave for the ski area in Kamoidake, Utashinai City. The journey takes about 30 minutes. On the way we talked about Indonesia and Japan, as well as comparing the culture of the two countries. When he arrived at the place, we ski in Kamoidake, and we went directly to the ski Equipment rental. Ski -shoes feel heavy and make our stairs uncomfortable. We started practicing in a sloping area. Kazuo patiently taught us to put shoes to the ski board to slip and how to stop. But many times we have fallen many times. The hardest thing is to get up after falling as a result of the weight of shoes and ski boards. Kazuo never tired of helping us get up and encourage. After resting for a while and drinking sweet drinks, we tried to play in a higher environment. We went on board the Gondola and willing to go down the slope. Unfortunately, because we were not yet skilled to keep the rate of the board, we kept falling. Standing back is not easy. After more than half of the trip, we gave up and took off the Skiboard, and then walked shoes on the slope, even though it was heavy. But one of our friends is still above, while it was late. The weather has also begun to be cloudy, snowyse will fall. In the end, there was a team that they picked up with snowmobile because the ski area would be closed. During the process, Kazuo remained patient and faithful to accompany. He made sure we stayed safe and not injured. Ski at Kamoidake Photo: Kanavino/Detikcom in the evening, we eat in a sushi restaurant. We laughed together and shared funny stories from our first experience with skiing. After eating, we returned to Kazuo’s house. We took a photo like family. We gave him a batik chalis as a memento. At the last moment, Kazuo rushed us back to the hotel. We embraced warm, unforgettable moment. The day became one of the most memorable days during the Jenesys activity. We try to find one word that can describe the togetherness. Only the next day we found it while studying the Kanji calyraphia in West Takikawa High School. One of the letters we wrote is ‘wa’, which means harmony and togetherness. The word also symbolizes the spirit of Japanese society, namely spirit to care for one another. Apparently, we felt it day before-especially Kazuo Kuro, our adopted family in Takikawa. (KNV/IDN) HOEGENG Awards 2025 Read the inspiring story of the exemplary police candidate here