I discovered the bamboo shoot digging event while casually browsing upcoming activities on the ICC website. Having heard positive feedback from friends who had joined previous ICC activities, I decided to sign up, and encouraged my friends to apply as well. A few days later, I was lucky enough to win a spot in the raffle—though, unfortunately, none of my friends had. Despite feeling a bit anxious about going alone, I decided to step out of my comfort zone on a beautiful sunny day in April, taking it as a good omen for the new semester.
Photo by ICC
Thankfully, Waseda provided a convenient shuttle bus from Kotesashi Station to the Tokorozawa campus, which helped me arrive right on time at 9:00 AM. There, I met up with everyone else. To help us break the ice, we were divided into six smaller groups—my “digging” teammates for the day. I met people from all over the world, including Japan, Germany, and the Philippines. After everyone had arrived, we took a 15-minute walk to a nearby bamboo forest, where we were greeted by local experts who gave us an introduction to the activity and a rundown of the dos and don’ts.
Once all the safety instructions were covered, we were paired up and got started. Although the sun was out, the bamboo forest provided us with much-needed shade—it was more physically demanding than I had expected! What I really appreciated was that the local professionals were there to guide us without taking over. This made the experience much more hands-on and rewarding. There was a real sense of satisfaction when we finally dug out a bamboo shoot ourselves. Everyone was allowed to take one shoot home, and I made sure to pick a decent size, since I planned to share it with my friends. The locals even gave us a helpful guide on how to cook it—especially useful for those who’d never tried bamboo shoot before.
Photo by ICC
After the digging, we hiked up to the top of a nearby hill, where we could see the whole view of Tokorozawa City. We had a picnic lunch with our group, giving us more time to connect. To encourage interaction beyond our teams, the ICC staff organised an icebreaker game: we had to complete a row or column on a hobby-themed bingo sheet, by talking to others and finding people who matched each box. It was a fun way to discover shared interests. Those who completed their sheets received an adorable, limited-edition ICC Waseda bear charm.
After the game, we learned that a shrine featured in Miyazaki Hayao’s My Neighbor Totoro was nearby. As a huge Ghibli fan, I was especially excited when the student leaders offered to take us there. After a short sightseeing stop, we returned to the hilltop for a short rest before heading back to campus.
The event wrapped up around 2 PM, and I headed straight to my friend’s place. We cooked the fresh bamboo shoots in a Chinese hotpot for dinner. Although I was initially unsure about going alone, it turned out to be a fantastic day—one that gave me the chance to meet new friends from diverse backgrounds and engage with nature in a meaningful way.
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