Announcing the start of applications for the 2026 Summer Program

Hello everyone, we are Hosoda and Akagi, co-founders of Campship Academy.

Thank you for always using and supporting Campship Academy. We also extend a welcome to those who are visiting our website for the first time. Thank you for taking a look.

Applications for the 2026 Summer Program will begin on Monday, April 13, 2026, a few days after this article is written. While we briefly touched upon it in a previous post, today we would like to share a little about our vision behind this year's summer program (previous post here).

What we've learned from past program experiences

Campship Academy is entering its fourth summer this year.

We have held approximately 50 programs so far. We have received over 600 valuable customer surveys from participants.

We have come this far thanks to your support. We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who took the time to respond to our surveys and sent us strict yet warm messages, thinking of us. Thank you.

Now, as we re-examined the feedback received from past programs and reflected on actual events in the field, various crucial elements emerged when planning and structuring our camps. In particular, we confirmed that the following three points play a significant role in determining the quality of our programs:

• Flexible activity design that accelerates curiosity
  • Children coming to camp have diverse interests. Designing experiences that allow for ample free time and choices in activities to delve deeper into their curiosity is crucial for children's discovery and growth.
• Building a culture that redefines "cool"
  • All children possess the budding seeds of "cooperation" and "independence" – a desire to help others. By leaders and staff praising and acknowledging the subtle consideration shown to younger children or spontaneous help offered in daily communal life, and creating a culture where "that is cool," children begin to act spontaneously. As a result, this fosters independence and self-esteem.
• "Who you spend time with" is more important than "where you go."
  • "Where and what you experience" is certainly important. But just as much, what leaves the deepest impression on a child's memory and prompts change is "encounters with leaders and friends." Passionate leaders who guide them and new friends who inspire them to strive. Interactions in a community different from their usual school or home environment can significantly broaden children's perspectives.

These are the three points. Children possess opinions and thinking abilities far more robust than we initially imagined. By unleashing their potential in the right direction and guiding their passion appropriately, they can overcome significant hurdles and challenges together with their peers. Through past experiences, we have learned that when they look back after completing a challenge, they have developed the ability to build relationships, cultivated a respect for others, and learned to believe in themselves more.

2026 Summer Program

This summer program incorporates many activities that can only be done in summer, such as marine activities on remote islands and lakes, and summery camping and outdoor experiences. It's guaranteed to be fun for kids! We are confident and want kids to experience it!

But more than that, what we want to deliver through this camp are the "invisible" experiences described above. It's the potential of a summer that will last a lifetime for a child.

• Providing "self-discovered revelations" rather than "predetermined schedules."
• Discovering "their own leadership" through "the joy of being recognized."
• Learning the wonder of "who they spend time with" more than "where they go."

Behind the plans published on our website are these thoughts from all our operating staff, including student leaders and interns.

Finally

The summer program consists of 14 programs, totaling 70 days. We have prepared Campship programs with various locations, durations, schedules, and concepts across Japan. All of our programs, packed with our commitment, are highly recommended. And the student leaders who support the programs are even more highly recommended and are the pride of Campship.

We sincerely look forward to your applications for the 2026 Summer Camp!

Co-founders / Tsutomu Akagi, Yoshiki Hosoda

April 2026