On 26 July (Wednesday), JAPAN RAIL CAFE had the privilege of hosting 20 lovable kids from the town of Hirono of Fukushima for dinner as part of their “Miracle Kutchie Experience” programme. This was made possible thanks to TODAY IS THE DAY (TITD), a non-profit organization founded and spearheaded by Japanese contemporary artist Noritoshi Hirakawa, as well as Singapore’s art institution LaSalle College of the Arts.

 

Since its inception in 2014, the two-week long programme is an art retreat exchange programme that offers trauma care for the participating children of Hirono aged between 9 to 12, living 22 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plants during the 3/11 nuclear disaster in 2011. This programme was also featured on The Straits Times on 24 July: A dose of art to ease Fukushima trauma.

 

The programme uses art therapy - in the form of arts & craft, music, dance, etc. - where children are encouraged to express themselves and connect with others through their artistic process. Besides art therapy, the children also got to stay with host families and participate in various recreational activities around Singapore.

 

As an inbound tourism promotional arm of East Japan Railway Company, it seemed fitting for the JAPAN RAIL CAFE to host our friends from Hirono and TITD for a meal. Our guests were served with the cafe’s delicious seasonal food menu Ebi Tamago Chirashi Don and thirst-quenching Aomori Apple Juice!

 

 

 

Besides the meal, our Travel Communicators also prepared a fun introductory presentation on Singapore for the children as it is their first time in Singapore. Topics like Singapore’s top tourist destinations, local delights, and even Singlish were introduced to the kids.

 

 

We were more than happy to provide our support to this meaningful event, and we hope it helped enrich the children’s art retreat in Singapore.