This blog summarizes the Campship Academy's Izu Islands/Shikinejima Summer Camp, which was held from August 18th to 21st, 2025.

This is the first time that Shikinejima has been used as a camp ship, so enjoy the fun of riding your bike around the remote island!

To sum up this trip in one word:

After a thrilling overnight ferry ride across the vast Pacific Ocean, we arrived at the remote island. The children each rode their bicycles, enjoying the sea, mountains, and nature with their friends, taking in the island's breeze and smells.

Unlike places where people usually live, this island has only one traffic light and life moves at a completely different rhythm. There are no large facilities, just nature.

It was a four-day experience of spending quality time with friends and leaders, enjoying the simple island life and pastimes!

Program Highlights

Day 1

We gathered at the Takeshiba Passenger Ship Terminal, the ferry port in Tokyo, and boarded the ferry with our children, who were feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness at being away from their families. We said goodbye to the Tokyo night view and set sail!

Once on board, we look for a place to sleep for the night. This time we will be spending the night in a special second-class cabin. Each person has their own bed, creating a space like a secret base! The children look excited too. We will be going to bed after exploring the large passenger ship (Salvia Maru) which can accommodate over 1,000 passengers.

Day 2

While you sleep, the ship steadily moves through the Pacific Ocean, sailing close to the Izu Islands. You will wake up in the morning surrounded by the vast ocean, enjoying the smell of the sea and the sea breeze. You will have breakfast on board.

We arrived safely at Shikinejima! We heard some children say they wanted to jump off the boat into the beautiful ocean, but we suppressed that urge and headed to the guesthouse where we would be staying.

After leaving our luggage and changing into our swimsuits, we rented bicycles! The unique feature of this program is that each person will rent an electric bicycle and travel around the island! There are no plans to travel by car (except in cases of illness, etc.).

Unlike regular bicycles, the bicycles we rented have been adjusted to a lower height so that children can ride them. There is only one traffic light on the island and the traffic volume is very light. There are many hills, so we rented an electric bicycle and practiced driving a bit before starting our journey.

I pedaled my bike to Nakanoura Beach. " If you go down the stairs in the forest on the hill, you will come across a beach surrounded by rocks, white sand, and greenery.

The unique feature of this beach is that you can see coral even from the nearby area, and there are many living creatures. It is a beach that is suitable for snorkeling, and you can see many fish.

At the beach, staff put up tarps (roofs) to provide a resting area for the children, with the help of the children themselves. They drive the pegs deep into the beach to withstand the wind that blows across the coast, but it's quite difficult because of the sand! There's a small lesson to be learned here, too.

All children wear life jackets and receive a safety lecture from a staff member who is a qualified snorkel guide before entering the water.

Shikinejima is an isolated island that can be reached by ferry from Tokyo. Because of its ria coastline, it has many beaches in calm bays and is famous for its extremely clear water. In areas with coral reefs, you can see many fish and other marine life. The island is said to be ideal for snorkeling, as you can see all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

The children were absorbed in playing in the water in their own way while enjoying the beautiful ocean. And it wasn't just the children who were looking forward to the beautiful ocean, the leaders were there too! The leaders were having so much fun together that it was hard to tell who was younger! The leaders, playing with smiles on their faces, were the children's heroes!

Being in the ocean is fun, but playing on the rocks is also a great way to spend time! After snorkeling, we head to the rocky shore and look for creatures. From here and there, we hear voices shouting, "There's a crab!" and "Look, everyone!" Searching for crabs is like a "mini project" for the children. This naturally sparks conversations between the children, and as they work towards a common goal, they end up becoming closer friends.

We had a lot of fun, so today's beach time is over! It's a bit sad to leave, but please look forward to it again tomorrow!

When you return to the accommodation by bicycle, leave your bicycle and let your life jacket dry.

After enjoying the hot springs near the inn, it was time for the long-awaited dinner! We all thanked the inn staff for preparing the meal before eating!

After dinner, we rode our bikes to the park and enjoyed stargazing! We spread out blue tarps and lay down together, enjoying the starry sky of the island! Many children were lucky enough to see a shooting star!

After stargazing, we returned to the accommodation and went to bed. Good night, ready for the next day!

Day 3

The morning of the second day started with a "morning island exploration" before breakfast. When I said to the energetic kids, "Let's explore the island a little bit before breakfast!", many children came running out of the inn shouting "Let's go!". They took a walk on the nearby beach while basking in the pleasant morning sun.

After breakfast, morning activities begin. In the morning, it is time for "selective activities." At Campship, "children decide what to do by themselves," and "face what they want to do and think about the results." We believe that experiencing "" is also a growth experience, I place great importance on choice activities.

There are two elective activities this time!

1. Bicycle around the island: Divide into teams of 5-6 people, look at a map of the island with your leader, decide on a destination as a team, and explore various places!

②Fishing at the island's fishing spot: Head to the fishing spot on Shikinejima, put bait on your fishing rod and try your hand at fishing!

Each person chose an activity after much deliberation!

The children attempt to cycle around the island, visiting various points on Shikinejima.

Shikinejima is a small island with a circumference of 12km that can be circled in about 1-2 hours, and there are various paths of different sizes that are typical of an island, abundant nature, and the best views to be seen everywhere. There are many hot springs, including Jinata Onsen (underwater hot springs), which is famous for being located in a place that looks like it was split by a hatchet, and Gunjiyama Observatory, where you can enjoy the magnificent Pacific Ocean. The kids won't get bored!

Unlike traveling by car or train, a distinctive feature of bicycle programs is that children can feel a great sense of freedom and a sense of accomplishment when they reach their destination by pedaling themselves. Naturally, a sense of cooperation developed, with children waiting for friends who were running a little late and calling out to them.

Drink lots of water to prevent heatstroke, and take in salt as you go. It's also fun to splash yourself with water at any water source you find! A little water play!

The Sea Fishing Experience Team tried their hand at fishing at Shikinejima Port! Shikinejima is famous for its stable pier, making it easy to fish. The Kuroshio Current also makes it rich in fish, and when you look down at the ocean from above, you can see the lagoon and observe the fish as they fish.

However, being able to see the shadow of a fish is not the same as catching one. The children who thought they could catch a fish right away because they could see it found that the fish did not jump on the bait, or even if they did bite, they ended up just eating the bait without getting caught on the line, and they experienced the difficulty of fishing over and over again.

And finally, the fish they caught was a porcupine fish! At first, there was a big fuss of "We caught a pufferfish!" but on closer inspection, they saw that it was a porcupine fish, a type of pufferfish. When they pulled the porcupine fish onto the bank, it began to expand rapidly. This is a defensive measure in which it sucks in seawater and air into its stomach, inflating its body and raising its spines to prevent it from being swallowed by external forces, and the children were fascinated by this natural creature.

The selection activities will end in the morning, and after a break, everyone will head out to the beach. In the afternoon, we will head to Tomari Beach. This beach, ranked number one in the 2023 ranking of Japan's cleanest beaches, is located in a cove surrounded by rocks and has exceptionally clear water! The entrance is a great spot for photos!

At Tomari Beach, we did a variety of sea activities besides snorkeling! The kids and adults enjoyed jumping into the sea from a small rock jutting out! It felt so good, we couldn't help but smile!

The Campship Beach Flag Tournament was held with different starting points for different age groups so that people of all ages could enjoy it! Only those who have the fastest start, the best course, and the best jump towards the flag can win the championship! For activities like this that everyone can enjoy, we ask everyone to come up with rules that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders as much as possible.

One of the most popular activities for children is, of course, "playing with the leaders." Meeting and interacting with the leaders is one of the most important experiences we want to provide to children at camp.

At Campship, we believe that the best way to entertain children is to create safe and fun activities together with the children and for the leaders to enjoy the program themselves, so we make sure that the leaders also enjoy their time with the children to the fullest.

The children don't let their leader get away, not only in the sea but also on the sand. And when they are caught, they are buried, as you would expect. In a sudden group activity in the sand, everyone calls out to each other and works together to complete their creation! George (the leader), a muscular man, has great muscles. Tai-chan is good at playing, so be careful not to get stepped on!

And before we knew it, our time at the beach was over!

After playing in the sea, we headed to the island's famous underwater hot spring. After showering through the sand, we soothed our tired bodies in the hot springs that were naturally created right next to the sea. A friendship was even born between the guys!

Back at the inn, it was time for dinner. The chef appeared and served us some delicious sashimi!

After dinner, we moved on to the next day. After a health check, it was time for shaved ice dessert! The leader quickly set up a shaved ice stand! And since today was the last night, we all walked to the beach and set off fireworks!

Day 4/Final

Today, only those who want to go can take a morning bike ride before breakfast! So, we rode our bikes to the underwater hot springs. It feels so good to soak our feet in the morning sun! Even the kids ended up soaking in it for too long...

After breakfast, we set off for the final ocean activity of the program! Everyone was getting ready by themselves and were perfectly ready when the time came!

After the morning sea activities, we returned to the inn, took a shower, and had lunch. On Shikinejima, Miyatora, a local supermarket, prepared lunches that were typical of the island. We chose the "Three Meals a Day" lunch box, which was filled with the island's rock seaweed. " and "Red squid fried noodles " is unique to this island!

After lunch, we went to the island's souvenir shop to pick out souvenirs for ourselves and our families. Then, we said goodbye to the guesthouse and headed to the port! On the way back, instead of taking a large ferry, we boarded a jet boat and returned to Takeshiba Terminal in Tokyo, a three-hour journey.

We arrived safely at Takeshiba Pier and disbanded, bringing the program to a successful conclusion!

lastly

Looking back on it in this report, I feel once again that the children had a lot of experiences over these four days. For the children, who were visiting a remote island for the first time, it was all about what they saw, what they touched, the smells and food of the island, and the friendships and encounters they made with their friends and leaders. I think it was four days filled with many challenges and successes.

As the group leader, I felt the children's growth in many ways throughout this trip. On the first day, things like preparing for the beach and traveling by bicycle were not smooth. But over time, they were able to coordinate things like serving meals and cleaning up without saying a word. On the first day, some children were a little reserved and kept their distance from their friends, but by the last day, they had become as close as old friends. Of course, experiencing nature on a special island like Shikinejima was a wonderful experience, but I feel that living together with friends and meeting new friends and leaders was an even more valuable experience, one that will remain engraved in the children's lives.

Thank you everyone for participating in this program! We look forward to seeing you again on Campship!