Urawa-Kyoritsu Campus

2023/01/31

Image: Urawa-Kyoritsu Campus / Medicinal Plant Garden

The Urawa-Kyoritsu Campus is one of Keio University's lesser-known facilities. Formerly a facility of Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy, it took its current name following the merger in 2008.

Located 30 minutes by bus from JR Omiya Station and about 3 km from Saitama Stadium 2002, it is in a place where the cheers from matches carry on the wind. Usually, only a few facility management staff are present, making it a quiet facility where the general public occasionally visits to tour the Medicinal Plant Garden.

Looking back at the school history and public relations from the Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy era, this facility was established in June 1966 (Showa 41). Due to its location, it was difficult for the Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy at the time to expand its small campus into the surrounding area. Shortages of land and facilities were reportedly frequent issues, not only for educational purposes but also for meeting the requirements for promotion to a university under the post-war system and setting enrollment quotas. Expanding the campus and facilities was a long-held ambition for the university.

Seeking facilities in the suburbs, a branch campus was established in Yukigaya, Ota City, in 1933. It moved to Koganei City in 1936, and then to Midori Ward, Saitama City (formerly Urawa City) in 1966, where it remains today. A steel-framed school building was completed in 1975, and classes were held there from 1976 to 2005. At its peak, students attended three days a week (two days for first-year students and one day for second-year students). Students from far away would stay overnight in the lodging rooms and enjoy cooking for themselves with their classmates.

With the 2008 merger, the facility no longer affected any formal requirements, leaving only its original purpose of being utilized for students. In terms of requirements, the Medicinal Plant Garden is listed in the Standards for Establishment of Universities as a necessary affiliated facility for universities with a Faculty of Pharmacy, but I will save that introduction for another occasion.

Currently, the facility includes a gymnasium, three tennis courts (all clay), a sports field, three lecture rooms, and the Medicinal Plant Garden. It also features lodging rooms that can accommodate up to approximately 44 people and is primarily used as a venue for extracurricular activities such as club activities and seminars for students of the Faculty of Pharmacy (day use is free / 500 yen per person per night. Applications are accepted at the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus Office of Student Services; currently, only day use is permitted due to COVID-19 measures).

In addition, events such as the "Urawa Festival," a social sports day for first-year Faculty of Pharmacy students, and plant observation classes using the Medicinal Plant Garden are held. However, due to the distance from the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus and the busy curriculum of Faculty of Pharmacy students, there is almost no student use on weekdays, which feels a bit lonely.

The facilities are old, but you can feel a nostalgic Showa-era atmosphere throughout, which might actually feel fresh to today's youth. While it is far as a facility for classes, if viewed as a peaceful training camp where friends can spend time together harmoniously, it is not that far and could be an ideal location. I hope this facility will be utilized for the benefit of the students.

(Kazuhiro Oyo, Shiba-Kyoritsu Property Management Section (In charge of the Medicinal Plant Garden and Urawa-Kyoritsu Campus))