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At the Okuma-dori shopping street near Waseda Campus, with a rice producer from Saga City and student club members. Kato is second from the left.

"Student Reports" is a series where students share glimpses of campus life, where diverse people gather and learn in various ways, along with their own insights and growth. This time, Kato from Match Work Group Waseda (an officially recognized student club) reports on the "Okuma Meshi Stamp Rally" held in the Okuma-dori shopping district in March 2026!

Rediscovering the charm of Waseda as a "town"! We want to convey the joy of engaging with the local community.

Secretary-General of "Match Work Group Waseda"
Seigo Kato, 3rd year student, School of Education

"Match Work Group Waseda" is a community-based volunteer student club. Through planning and managing various local events such as children's fairs and festivals held on the university campus, and publishing a local Waseda information magazine, we interact with shop owners and children around the university, acting as a bridge between university students and the community and contributing to the development of Waseda.

This time, we cooperated with the "Okuma Meshi Stamp Rally," organized by the Okuma-dori Shopping Association, one of the shopping associations around Waseda University. This event is a collaboration between Saga City, Saga Prefecture, the birthplace of Shigenobu Okuma, and restaurants in the Okuma-dori Shopping Association of Waseda University. The aim is to revitalize both regions by having member restaurants offer menus using ingredients from Saga City (tomatoes, seaweed, and rice).

Specifically, customers who ordered three items from the menu or purchased any product received a prize of "Maruboro," a famous Saga specialty, and a 500 yen gift certificate in the style of a banknote, called the "Okuma Coupon," featuring a pixelated image of Shigenobu Okuma. Match Work Group Waseda mainly cooperated with the campaign by sampling the menu items, creating posters, and disseminating information on social media.

Okuma ticket (left), and the "Maruboro" gift (right).

Students who actually participated in the stamp rally said things like, "It was a chance to learn about delicious food from Saga," and "The Okuma coupons I received as prizes made me feel more attached to my school."

One of the participating restaurants, "Toden Table," offers a collaborative menu item: "Seared Salmon and Tomato Tartare Hand Roll" (left). Event posters created by members of the shopping association, along with posters created by students showcasing each restaurant's menu and the producers of the Saga City ingredients used, are displayed on the streetlights along Okuma Street (right).

As the leader of this project, I frequently met with Hirokazu Yasui, the chairman of the Okuma-dori Shopping Association and owner of "Kodawari Shoten," to discuss event planning and methods for attracting customers. Throughout these discussions, I was repeatedly moved by Mr. Yasui's determination to revitalize the Okuma-dori Shopping Association while managing his own store, and I felt reassured by his attitude of treating us students as equals.

As a member of student club that advocates for "community development," there are two things I learned and felt. First, the importance of trusting and relying completely on student club members. While leading this event, I felt the difficulty of giving instructions, but at the same time, I realized the presence of reliable peers and juniors. In particular, the growth of the second-year students, who will become the main force in the future, was deeply moving, as they took initiative and produced high-quality results.

Secondly, I felt a desire to promote the charms of various shopping streets, not just one. There are seven shopping streets in Waseda, each with its own unique character and welcoming shops. Through this project, I was able to reaffirm that there are still many unknown charms in the town I pass through every day without giving it much thought.

With Chairman Yasui at the Okuma-dori shopping street (left). A poster (right) introducing how "Match Work Group Waseda" was involved in the project.

I want more Waseda students to feel that Waseda University is deeply connected to the community through events like Waseda cuisine (local food stalls) and WASEDASAI, and I want to convey that warmth to more students so that the community of Waseda can continue to move forward into the future. To that end, I want to continue to take the lead in engaging with the community.

[Match Work Group Waseda]
X: @match_waseda
Instagram: @hakkenmatch
Website: https://hakkenmatch.wixsite.com/website/activity