Waseda WeeklyWaseda Weekly

The biggest campus events, "WASEDASAI 2024" and "Rikoten" will be held this weekend on November 2nd (Sat) and 3rd (Sun). Although it is one of the largest campus festivals in Japan, it is actually planned and run from scratch by students themselves! To get closer to the appeal of this campus festival, we held a special interview with two members of the Waseda Festival 2024 management staff and two members of the Science and Engineering Exhibition Liaison Committee. We conducted a thorough interview to find out about this year's highlights and what goes on behind the scenes of the event!

"WASEDASAI 2024" Management Staff
Representative: Shunsuke Samata, 3rd year student School of Political Science and Economics
Third Vice Representative: Kokoro Natsume, 3rd year student School of Law

Rikoten Liaison Committee
Vice representative: Aki Nabeyama, 3rd year student School of Advanced Science and Engineering
Director of the Information BureauYuto Nose, 3rd year student School of Advanced Science and Engineering

What are the attractions of "WASEDASAI 2024" and "Rikoten"?

--Please tell us about the appeal of WASEDASAI.

Samata: We think of WASEDASAI as a celebration of Waseda culture, and the sheer number of exhibiting student club and visitors is an absolute attraction. Waseda culture has developed around students over its long history, and the fact that it has been established as a festival of that culture is something we are most proud of.

--What do you think Waseda culture is specifically?

Samata: There are two main points. The first is the amount of passion we Waseda students have. Seeing so many Waseda students seriously devoting themselves to their daily activities, I wanted to focus not only on the scenery you see on the day of WASEDASAI, but also on the hardships and difficulties they faced and the fun daily activities they undertook, so I decided on the theme of "Stories." I hope that everyone will experience that energy at WASEDASAI 2024.

Another thing is the richness of variety. Of course, this also applies to the Riko Exhibition, but there are so many interesting students who make you think, "I didn't know there were people doing things like this!" That diversity is what I really like about Waseda, and I want to cherish it at WASEDASAI as well.

--What is the appeal of Rikoten?

Nose: I think it's the fascination with technology and science, and the ability to communicate them. The theme of this year's event, "PRISM," is something whose color changes depending on how you look at it. I think that technology and science in the science field are like gaining a new perspective by learning about them, and Rikoten is a cultural festival of the future that embodies that.

We are also conscious of communicating with small children, so we would be happy if they could make discoveries like, "Science is so interesting!" or "There is this kind of technology behind the games I play!" I myself and all the members of the Rikoten Liaison Committee really love the science field. I think the appeal of the Rikoten is that together with these members, we can get close to the visitors and carefully convey the fun of each one of them.

Right: A poster for the Rikoten2024 and merchandise featuring the mascot character "Yaguchi-kun." The theme of the school festival is decided primarily by the theme committee after ideas are solicited from the entire Riko Exhibition Liaison Committee.

Recommended by the event staff! Points of interest and main features

--What are some things to look forward to this year?

Samata: The theme colors for WASEDASAI 2024 are light blue and orange, which is super cute! This is inspired by this year's catchphrase, "Your Story, Assembled." If we think of the period from preparation to WASEDASAI as one story, we want the sky to be clear on the day of WASEDASAI, where the story concludes. The decorations at WASEDASAI are always well received, but we thought it would be a very refreshing image to see the campus, which many people visit, painted light blue with posters and other decorations. We hope that people will pay attention to the scenery that they don't usually see at Waseda.

Natsume: We have many events planned, and for the first time, we will be holding a local product exhibition called "Waseda Tabi Techo" by student Tomonkai from each region. This is a project unique to Waseda, where many students from various regions gather, and we will be selling local specialties from all over Japan. In addition, the food and drink sales project, which was a huge success last year, regaining the bustle before the pandemic, will also have a food stall contest, so please be sure to vote for your favorite store!

Left: Logo of the "Waseda Tabi Techo" product exhibition project
Photo on the right: A view of the food stalls at WASEDASAI 2023. This year, a food stall contest will be held with the theme "Find your favorite food stall!" where visitors can vote.

Nabeyama: There are two noteworthy events that the Rikoten will be taking on for the first time this year! The first is the Rikoten Esports CUP, an inter-university e-sports tournament. In addition to watching the battles between teams that survived the preliminary rounds, there will be an experience booth where you can experience the latest technology related to e-sports. At this booth, you can play VR games that allow you to experience "The Fundamentals of Experiments 1," a required subject for first-year students in the Faculty of Science and School of Science and Engineering. The games were created from scratch by students belonging to the Rikoten Liaison Committee, so their technical capabilities are sure to catch your attention. There will also be a wide range of experience-based content to enjoy, including projection mapping and AR content!

The second is a one-off project called "Expo Classroom." The 2025 World Expo in Japan (Osaka/Kansai Expo) is coming to the Riko Exhibition! In addition to lectures on the latest technology related to the Expo and the theme of "Cities of the Future," a quiz competition related to the Expo will also be held. You can have fun learning about the differences between past and present Expos and the latest technology at the current Expo.

Completely student-run! Introducing the journey to the school festival

From planning and running to securing funding, WASEDASAI 2024 and Rikoten is run entirely by students. We asked each of them to look back on the activities they have undertaken up until the day of the event.

"WASEDASAI 2024" Management Staff

A total of about 650 members are divided into eight departments: venue preparation, participation support, development, planning, PR production, public relations, general affairs, and finance. The organization is run by four executives, including one representative and three deputy representatives, and is run just like a company.

January-February 2024: Deciding on executives and establishing structures for each team

April to June 2024: Welcoming activities and new member enrollment

Photo: The 2024 new student welcome event. In addition to the information session (left), various events were held, such as the "What if I became WASEDASAI staff?" (right), where students could talk about activities while walking around the campus with the management staff.

August 2024: Recruiting participating organizations, creating operation plans, creating various public relations materials, etc.

Photo: A scene from the creation of a decorative signboard on the second basement floor of Waseda University Student Center on Toyama Campus

September to October 2024: Coordination and rehearsals for project implementation

November 2nd and 3rd, 2024 WASEDASAI Day

Rikoten Liaison Committee

All of the students are from the Faculty School of Science and Engineering! There are about 450 members divided into five departments: Planning, Public Relations, Finance, Information, and General Affairs. Their strength is in technical skills, and they do everything themselves, from game development to app production and management of "Yaguchi-chan" (VTuber).

June to August 2023: Election of representative, vice representative, and selection of officers

December 2023: Change of leadership (new officers take office) and Christmas party

April to July 2024: New student welcome activities and ideathons (first-year students)

Photo: The day of the Ideathon presentation. First-year students who had just joined Rikoten Liaison Committee were divided into groups, and with the help of upperclassmen who acted as mentors, they were asked to actually create a plan for the school festival. In the process of putting together the measures, they learned about the work of each department, which increased their motivation.

October 2024 Last minute preparations: Halloween party

November 2nd and 3rd, 2024 Rikoten Day/Reflection Session

Important notices and event details

Samata: There are a lot of visitors. The vending machines on the premises may sell out, so please bring your own drinks!

Natsume: Waseda Station is expected to be very crowded, so please consider walking from Takadanobaba Station or Nishi-Waseda Station. We will also be hosting live performances by famous artists not only on Waseda Campus but also on Toyama Campus, so we hope you will take the time to see every nook and cranny!

Photo: Brochure for "WASEDASAI 2024." This year, the designs will be different for the first and second days! (The left is the first day, the right is the second day)

Nabeyama: Please make sure to download the "Aprico" app, which is packed with information about Rikoten, before you come! You can also get numbered tickets for the exhibition from Aprico. Also, you may want to bring an eco-bag, as you may want to take home things you made during the experiment. We also sell eco-bags as original Rikoten goods, so please make use of them!

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