Sengari Camp
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Sengari Camp (千刈キャンプ Sengari Kyanpu?) is an off-campus, public facility located outside of Sanda, Hyōgo, Japan that is operated by Kwansei Gakuin University. About 12,000 people visit Sengari Camp a year. Half of them are connected to Kwansei Gakuin University, for example, kindergarten children, junior high school, high school, and university students in the Kwansei Gakuin group. 25% are associated with Christianity in some way, and there are two Chapels for this purpose. The rest of the guests are from the general public. Most guests stay one or two days. Many people visit the camp in July and August. Sengari camp was created in 1955 and this camp's aim is a connection between the forest and human life. Usually employees work full season, but in long vacation, camp leaders, who are Kwansei Gakuin university students, work as volunteers there.
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[edit] History
1955: Sengari camp was established
1960: The telephone line was established
1965: Sengari camp held its 10th anniversary party
1971: Chestnut, Hydrangea, and Metasequoia were planted
1975: Sengari camp held the 20th anniversary party
1985: First Sengari festival (Sengari camp held the 30th anniversary party)
1987: Sengari area vegetation research was done
1993: Private promotion foundation subsidy was given
1999: Forest maintenance festival was held
2002: Student staff system was created
2004: Typhoons No.14, No.19 and No.23 caused a lot of damage, such as collapsed trees and damage to the water service tube.
2005: Sengari camp held the 50th anniversary party
[edit] Location and Access Map
Sengari Camp is located at 1817-1 Kashita, Sanda, Hyōgo, 669-1507, Japan.
Access to Sengari Camp
Bus from Sanda station (about 20 minutes)
Bus from Takarazuka station
[edit] On-site Facilities
Sengari has new cabins, old cabins, and tents as accommodations. There are also three meeting rooms, two Japanese-style rooms, two guest rooms and a cafeteria. In addition, there is a staffed office. For outdoor meetings, four facilities are available. Guests can use campfire places and sports grounds as well.
Camp Center
The Camp Center is the main lodge. There are three workshop rooms, two Japanese-style rooms, two guest rooms, one cafeteria, one room for camp leaders, two bathes and six bathrooms in the main lodge. The Camp Center is handicap accessible.
There is a TV, a blackboard, an organ, and Internet access available in each workshop room.
The guest and Japanese-style rooms have an air conditioner, TV, tatami (Japanese-style mat), and shouji (a door made from wood and Japanese paper.)
The cafeteria has about 75 tables, 300 chairs and an organ. This room can be separated into two rooms.
New cabins
Cabins A, B,D,E,F,G,H,I can accommodate 14 people. Cabins C,J can accommodate 16 people.
Old cabins
Cabins 1-5 can each accommodate 12 people. “Bucknell cabin" can accommodate 8 people. “Bates cabin” can accommodate 42 people.
Other Facilities
There several other facilities located in Sengari Camp that can be used for various purposes. “Shalom Hall", which is a monument of the Great Hanshin earthquake, can be used as an assembly hall and for doing campfires inside. Three meeting places are “Outerbridge Hall”, “Tsuji Memorial Chapel”, and the “Log House”.
"Outerbridge Hall" has an organ, blackboard, some desks and chairs. Outerbridge Hall’s capacity is about 100 people.
"Tsuji Memorial Chapel" has an organ and the floor is concrete. Tsuji Chapel’s capacity is about 120 people. This chapel is used for doing campfires with candles, and making handcrafts. The "Log House" has a refrigerator, heater, bookshelves and some books. The log house’s capacity is about 20 people. Three outdoor facilities are “Green Chapel”, “Grace Hill” and the grounds.
Green chapel is the open-air chapel with 15 benches. It is found near "Praying Hill", an outdoor praying space near a big pond, where crayfish fishing is permitted. Near this pond there are many flowers. Five campfires places are Dai-ichi campfires place, Dai-ni campfires place, the “Pole Sight”, the "Coliseum", and the “Diamond Stage”. The Pole Sight is a small area often used for doing hangousuisan, a Japanese way of cooking rice above a campfire. The Coloseum is used for playing many sports like baseball, soccer, and badminton, and it must be reserved before use. The Diamond Stage is used for doing campfires.
The playground has some handmade equipment such as a slide and swing. Suisanjyou resembles the Pole Sight but is smaller. Additionally, the "Tent Site" is a space to pitch tents.
[edit] Equipment
Sengari camp has furniture, sports goods and cooking tools. We can borrow following things from Sengari camp.
Furniture for studying (Pay for external group)
O.H.P., slide, projector, VTR, amplifier set, CD cassette recorder, etc.
Sports Goods (free)
Softball, Volleyball, Badminton, Gate ball, Table tennis, Silver compass, Astronomical telescope, Binocular, saw, knife
Cooking Tools
Cooking utensils, barbecue set, etc.
[edit] Staff
There are full-time staff, part-time staff and student leaders. The full-time staff consists of two managers, four clerks and two kitchen staff. Their work is to manage the camp, to take reservations and to cook. The part-time staff’s work is cleaning and helping the kitchen staff. Student leaders are students of Kwansei Gakuin University. They call visitor campers. They get up at 6:30 and open the various facilities. They give orientations and explain the ways to use the camp. Sometimes they raise the flag. Their main job is preparing meals and helping campers make campfires. The student leaders also cut trees and grasses for safely. The challenge of this job is to practice the spirit of ‘Mastery for Service’ and the growth of oneself. They work for camper’s enjoyment.
・Full-time staff and part-time staff of 20 people
・18 Student leaders
[edit] Visitors
Approximately 12,000 visitors come in a year. Summer is the most popular season to visit.
Famous Visitors
Prince Mikasa of the Imperial House of Japan
Ekizo Fujibayashi (藤林益三 ) (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Sengari SciTech English Camp
Sengari SciTech English Camp (千刈科学技術英語合宿) started in 2004. Approximately 60-70 science students from Kwansei Gakuin University take part in this course for 5 days during summer vacation (with an additional 2 days on-campus). The students are separated into small groups, and each group has a native English teacher and 8~9 students. The main purpose of this course is to provide intensive English opportunities for students. Teachers try to make students work harder so that students can learn about Science in English and Science ethics.
[edit] Goods
The Sengari’s goods are sold at the front desk of Sengari Camp Center. There are several kinds of postcards featuring the scenery of Sengari camp or the plants ranging throughout Sengari’s area. The most popular goods are postcards. The following things are available for purchase.
・Sengari T-shirts --- 1,000 yen
・Postcards --- 105 yen ～
・Kwansei Gakuin’s notebooks --- 350 yen
・Key rings --- 300 yen
・Sengari bag --- 1,500 yen
[edit] Dangers
Sengari Camp has some dangerous points. They are insects, animals, plants, and certain area.
Insects
Bees (wasps, honeybees, Paper wasps)
Animals
Snakes (viper) , boars.
Plants
Japanese lacquer trees
Areas
Wet stone stairs (Because there is moss on the surface, they may be wet and slippery.)
[edit] Plants around Sengari Camp
Quercus (Oak) Myrsinaefolia An evergreen and a tall tree. The leaf pattern is alternating. The length is 4-13 m. The width is 1.5~2.5 cm. It has low serration. It is asexual. The nut’s shape is an oval and its length is 1.5 cm.
Chestnut Tree (Fagaceae) A deciduous, tall tree. The height is 10~20 m. The bark is grayish-black and has a crack. The leaf pattern is alternating and its edge is saw-like. The flower looks like a string and its shape is like a fountain. It has a unique smell.
Japanese Red Pine (Pinaceae) An evergreen and a tall tree. The height is about 30 m. The bark is tinged with red. It has opposite leaves. The flower comes into bloom in spring and is asexual. Male flower is oval shape and comes into bloom in the base of new branch. The pollen is yellow. Female flower comes into bloom ahead of new branch and is red-purple.
Japanese Pink Lily (Liliaceae) An herbaceceous perennial. The height is about 80 cm. The leaves are slender and sparse. The flower is light pink. Its shape is a funnel form. It has a distinctive anther, a medicine that can be extracted. Its leaves are named because of looking like bamboo leaves.
Chinese Lychnis (Thyme/aeaceae) A deciduous tree and a shrub. The height is 1.5～2 ｍ. The bark is the color of deep brown, and its fiber is used for paper manufacturing. The leaf pattern is alternating and there is silk hair both sides. The flower comes into bloom ahead of the branch and its length is 7～8 mm. It is barrel-shaped and pale yellow.
Struthiopteris (Struthiopteris) An evergreen pteridophyte. It has a thick and short rootstock. Trophophyll is green, thick and pinnate. Young leaves are tinged with red. Sporophyl is long.
Needle Juniper (Cupressaceae) An evergreen and a tall tree. The height is about 17 m. The bark is gray-brown. It can be split by man or lightning. The leaf is acerose and pointing. The flower comes into bloom in spring. It can be male or female. The cone is a globular form. It is green at the early stage and it changes to black-purple afterward. It is named ‘Nezu’ because it can even sting mice in Japanese.
[edit] Insects found at Sengari Camp
Sengari Camp has many kinds of insects typical for the area. The following insects are most easily found.
Crab spider (April-October) It is about eight cm long. Its forefoot is longer and stronger than hind leg. It lives in flowers, leaves, cortexes and under ground. It doesn’t make cobwebs, but catches small insects that approach it. It can be found around the world.
Wasp (April) It is about six cm long. It has a society which consists of a queen and workers. It makes a nest on a branch, under the eaves, the inside of ground, the cave of tree, and attic. It eats other insects and larva and has powerful poison. It may attack people and domestic animals.
Paper wasp (April) It is about one cm long. It has a society which consists of a queen and workers. It uses fiber of dead trees and makes nests which have characteristics like paper. It makes its nests one the reverse of a leaf and under the eaves. It eats caterpillar.
Millipede (September-October) It is about four cm long, but may grow to over 20 cm. It eats fallen leaves and moss. It is nocturnal, and submerges in fallen leaves at noon. It has secretion areas on its side and emits a powerful poison from there.
Cicada (August-September) It is about fifty six cm long. Adult cicada may settle in tree trunks and branches. Its male sings with a loud voice. Its larva lives under the ground for about seven years. It is distributed around Japan.
Spanish fly (April-October) It is about two cm long and has large eyes and jaw. The body has a gloss. It eats small insect. When humans approach it, it may jump ahead and look back. Because it has habit like this, this insect called “Michiosie” in Japan. “Michiosie” means that it leads the way.
Stag beetle (May-October) It is about twenty five-seventy mm long. Its color is black or blown. Its larva lives in old tree, its adults are mainly active at night. It eats sap. It mainly lives in tropical forests.
Cricket (insect) (August-October) It is about fifteen mm long. Its color is black and blown. It lives in grass and under the stones. It eats plant or fruits. Its male sings with a characteristic voice. It can be found in Temperate Zones or tropical forests.
[edit] Nearby Facilities
Sengari Camp is in the countryside but there are several facilities nearby. There is a vast field nearby Sengari Camp, so there are many golf courses. The nearest golf course is Sengari Country Club. Another facilitiy nearby is the Itami Open-air Activity Center.
Itami Open-air Activity Center
It has some cabins, some tents, some tennis courts and a gym. There is also places to have barbecues.
Sengari Country Club
There are 18 holes. Out yardage of the course is 3295 yards, in yardage of the course is 3190 yards, so total is 6485 yards.
[edit] References
- Sengari Camp Nature Guide Map, Ezo Azuma. (Date unknown). Sengari Camp Materials.
- Campers First, Ken Okumura. (Date unknown). Sengari Camp Materials.
- Official site (Japanese): Sengari Camp
[edit] External links
- Official site (Japanese): Sengari Camp
