Keio University High School Hokkaido School Trip in the 1950s and 60s

2021/03/29

Image: At the Mount Hakodate Observatory (Mid-1950s to 60s)

When you meet classmates from Keio University High School after turning 60, the conversation usually turns to heroic tales (...) of the 3rd-year school trip to Hokkaido. The school trip began in 1952, the fifth year after the school's founding, and continued for about half a century until 1998, when the format changed to elective trips where individuals choose their timing and destination. While a student only participates once, as a teacher, I participated in eight more Hokkaido school trips. As a result, I have been able to share memories not only with my classmates but also with my former students. Furthermore, it became a common topic with seniors who would say, "In our day..." and it served as a sort of identity for Keio University High School graduates that allowed them to bond instantly.

The one memory where we can never beat our senior alumni is the simultaneous movement of all classes, which continued until 1962. For the railway, they arranged a dedicated chartered train from the Japanese National Railways, and for buses, it was a massive travel group of up to 20 vehicles gathered from various bus companies, including headquarters and spare vehicles. It must have been a truly exhilarating sight.

I have experienced various means of transportation to Hokkaido, including the Seikan Ferry, the Seikan Tunnel, and airplanes, but the common element in all of them was sightseeing in Hakodate. From the mid-1950s/60s onwards, it became a standard practice to stop at the Mount Hakodate Observatory and take a commemorative photo with the city and squid fishing boats in the background. 1972 was the year I participated as a student. It is a deeply memorable photo with my homeroom teacher, Mr. Satoshi Tabe, and the headquarters staff member, Mr. Toshio Shibata, on either side, and me in the back row. It was a group photo taken right after arriving in Aomori by sleeper train and stepping foot in Hokkaido for the first time via the Seikan Ferry. At the time, I had no idea that something outrageous was about to happen. As a member of the travel committee, I was the "servant" of my classmate, a 6th-year senior (...). Following his command of "Take care of the roll call," I had to spend a sleepless night waiting for the return of the senior who had escaped from the inn by taxi. After the trip, I was told heroic tales that I, as a committee member, knew nothing about—such as buying bottles before entering the inn and hiding them under uniforms, or throwing cans out of the window of the return sleeper train. Similar stories were told to me years later by former students, now middle-aged men, who confessed to repeated mischief behind their homeroom teacher's back. The school trip, which is the greatest memory for Keio University High School graduates, is no longer held. It is a great shame.

(Keio University Professor Emeritus, Shunichiro Ishikawa)