On October 8, 2022, Kizunaya Sharehouse held a camp at a closed school.

Nearly 70 people gathered from 6 Kizunaya houses in Tokyo, Chiba, and Osaka!

For the camp, a wide variety of contents were planned and organized by volunteer members, with staff recruited from among the participants. Sports events, bonfire talks, mystery solving, morning stretching… Of course, the event itself is created not only by the organizers, but also the participants, Kizunaya style.

I, as a participant, enjoyed the event to the fullest, but also livened up the event as the lead dancer of the final dance.

Let’s take a peek at the event through photos.

All of us took part in creating and enliving the event as a participants, not just as onlookers.

The camp started with positive energy.

First, the sports day. I am lucky enough to belong to multiple communities on a regular basis, and this was the third time after graduation that I got to take part in a sports day.

Still, I never get tired of it, and it feels fresh every time. Since a community is a collection of people, all “Sports Days” are always different and fun in their own ways.

This year’s sports day also had a lively atmosphere that is unique to the Kizunaya family, where members of various generations and diverse backgrounds gather, and we felt like an equal, casual, family-like bond was gradually developing between us.

Even with familiar content such as jumping rope, tug-of-war, ball toss, and obstacle running, I felt that as an adult, you rarely get to experience this feeling of using physical energy to work towards a common goal with friends. I found it wonderful that we have a relationship where we can support each other.

After the sports day, we all had a leisurely dinner on the playground. The rice team had been preparing curry and lassi from the previous day. Cooking rice in a pot warmed our hearts and bodies on a chilly night!

I’m afraid I don’t have enough space to include all of the fun details, but I would like to introduce a few highlights of the event.

The campfire lighting was a grand ceremony.

The torch baton was passed around like in a torch relay, and everyone enjoyed the anticipation.

Finally, a huge fire was lit, warming and lighting up the area.

Then came the long-awaited final dance. What I wanted to depict through dance was not a coherent or powerful performance.

I wanted to experience with everyone the feelings of love for Kizunaya and the sense of being a member of Kizunaya, which is created when the members expose their true selves to each other and express themselves.

Once the dance practice started, I was surprised to find that people were ready to express themselves more openly than I had imagined.

I was worried that some people would be shy and that it would be difficult to get them warmed up, but the members were willing to enjoy the occasion, and it was much easier than I had imagined for 70 people to come together as one.

As you can see from the photos, the place was always filled with the energy of fun!

The three-minute finale, in which everyone danced together, shouting energetically and loudly. I am sure that the common experience of the music resonating in our bodies created a feeling of “I am glad to be part of Kizunaya” that would linger even after this camp was over.

It was beautiful to see them high-fiving and hugging each other at the end.

With the end of this dance, the camp came to its finale.

The greatest charm of the Kizunaya family that I felt through this closed school camp was, without a doubt, their ability to have fun.

It was wonderful to see how each and every one of them had the “power to have fun,” and how they were eagerly devoting themselves to the content in front of them and making it fun. I am proud that I was able to create my own unique content with everyone who participated. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

Let’s make more memories again someday.

Writer: Piko

【All photos】

by Takuya Yamakawa.

Instagram: @y_takuya1206