Educational Resources

Enjoy our programs in the convenience of your own classroom or facility. Learn about aspects of Japanese culture through interactive presentations or craft-making! All programs are 40-45 minutes in length unless noted.

• A transportation fee and parking fee may also apply.
• The virtual format fee is $50 for any program from our “Cultural Interactions”, “Storytelling Creations”, and “Cultural Creations” programs except those where a virtual format is not available.
  • The material fee is waived as we cannot provide the materials to you.
  • A material list will be sent ahead of time to the organization to distribute to participants of the program.

Cultural Interactions

The program fee is $60 per session.

• Introduction to Japan (K – 5^th grade): What is a school like in Japan? What’s their lifestyle like? What kinds of clothes do they wear? What do they eat? Discover the answers in this interactive show-and-tell program.
• Language Basics and Manners (2^nd-6^th grade): Students learn simple words and phrases that are often used in daily life, as well as appropriate body language, gestures, and cultural etiquette.

Storytelling Creations

Program fee: $60 plus the material fee as indicated. Through a kamishibai (Japanese picture story), discover a folk tale from Japan. Afterward, have fun with a related hands-on activity!

• The Japanese Zodiac (K-5th): Discover the tale of the twelve animals of the Japanese Zodiac. ($2/student)
• The Magic Teakettle (K-3^rd): A man helps a tanuki, a raccoon dog, in distress and is later rewarded by this playful shape-shifting creature. ($2/student)
• Kon and Pon (K – 3rd): (Two-part story; double-length.) In this story, Kon, a fox, and Pon, a raccoon dog, who live on different sides of a mountain river become friends. Their families have never gotten along, but Kon and Pon’s friendship changes everything. ($2.50/student/1 hour)
• One Inch Boy (K – 3rd): Travel with the One-Inch Boy who proves himself by using his knowledge and strength of character to prevail in difficult situations. ($2/student)
• Hats for Jizos (K-3^rd): A poor old married couple is rewarded on New Year’s Eve for a selfless act of charity. ($2/student)
• The Bamboo Princess (1^st-4^th): A bamboo cutter and his wife raise a baby girl found in a bamboo stalk. As she grows their lives change forever until at last her secret origin is revealed. ($2/student)
• The Fisherman & the Dragon Palace (1^st-3^rd): Follow the tale of Urashima Taro, a kind young fisherman who accepts an invitation to visit a palace under the sea, as he learns that adventures sometimes have consequences. ($2/student)
• The Story of the Star Festival (K-3^rd): An ancient folktale about two star-crossed lovers, the Cow Herder, and the Weaver Princess, separated across the galaxy. ($2/student)
• The Peach Boy, Momotaro (K-4^th): An old couple finds a baby boy in a peach, who grows to be magically strong but must learn how to use his strength wisely. ($2/student)
• Tadpoles 101 (K-3^rd): A cautionary tale about the adventures of a too-curious tadpole; his brothers, sisters, and their mother. ($2/student)
• The Goblin, the Water Imp, and the Thunder God (1^st-5^th): A charcoal maker’s clever son outwits three mischievous creatures. ($2/student)
• The Three Magic Charms (K-3^rd): A young boy uses three paper charms to outwit a wicked Yamanba (yah-magn-bah) or Mountain Woman. ($2/student)
• The Mother Cat (K-3^rd): This is a true story about a mother cat and how she rescued her kittens from a burning building in New York City in 1996. This story was created with the assistance of a kindergarten class in Tokyo. ($2/student)
• The Oni Who Sank to the Bottom of the Sea (1^st -5^th): A good-hearted oni (oh-knee), with superhuman strength, rouses himself from his mountain retreat to save his neighbors. ($2/student)
• The Old Man and the Mice (K-3^rd): A kind old man befriends a band of mice and receives a magic mallet. A greedy neighbor sees this and plants to get one for himself. ($2/student)
• The Old Man and the Fox (K-4^th): This is a humorous tale about an old man who decides to play a trick on a sleeping fox; instead, he ends up learning a lesson himself. ($2/student)

Cultural Creations

Program fee: $60 plus the material fee as indicated.

• Origami (2^nd & up): Turn flat pieces of paper into three-dimensional works of art! ($2/student/max. 20 students)
• Uchiwa Fans (K – 5^th): Students make a flat summer paper fan. ($2.50/student/max. 30 students)
• Masks (2^nd – 4^th): Students make a pop-culture mask using craft materials. ($2.50/student/max. 30 students)
• Fish Prints (K & up): Make a traditional gyotaku print using real fish! ($7.50/student/max. 20 students) *Great for all ages! [Not available in virtual format]
• Chigirie (4^th & up): Make a post-card-sized picture using Japanese-style paper collage techniques. ($2.50/student/max. 30 students) *Great for adults too!
• Kite Making (1^st – 3^rd): Students make a simple kite. Color, fold, and fly! ($2/student/max. 30 students) [Not available in virtual format]
• Miniature Garden Making (2^nd – 5^th): Use real plants, stones, soil, and sand to create a mini-Japanese garden of your own. ($7.50/student/max. 20 students)
• Samurai Helmet (2^nd – 4^th): Learn about the great warrior of old Japan and create a 3-dimensional craft helmet that you can wear. ($2/student/max. 30 students)
• Poetry Scroll (4th & up): Tap into your inner artist by designing your very own hanging scroll called kakejiku, and then pair it with your own haiku poem. ($2.50/student/max. 20 students)