Biratori Invites University Students to 2026 Great Land Collaboration Summer Workshop

Biratori Town, home to Nibutani – one of the most active Ainu communities in Hokkaido – is recruiting participants for the FY2026 Great Land Collaboration Workshop Summer in Biratori, a five-night residential programme mixing Ainu cultural experience with discussion of regional development.

Programme details

• Dates: Monday, August 24 to Saturday, August 29, 2026 (five nights, six days).
• Application deadline: Monday, June 29, 2026, 17:00.
• Venue: Ior Cultural Exchange Centre and other locations around Nibutani, Biratori Town.
• Eligibility: University and graduate students, capacity 16.
• Fee: JPY 9,000 (accommodation and meals included).
• Travel: Own responsibility; half-subsidy available under specified conditions.
• Organiser: Biratori Town Ainu Culture Promotion Public Corporation.

Why it matters

The Great Land Collaboration Workshops – Biratori has run both summer and winter editions in recent years – are among the few structured multi-day Ainu-culture programmes for higher-education audiences. Applicants engage with actual practitioners and are asked to develop their own regional-development perspectives during the stay.

For international readers

Biratori’s Nibutani district is home to the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum and to two Ainu products – Nibutani Ita (trays) and Nibutani Attus (cloth) – recognised as Traditional Craft Industry items by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Source: Biratori Town official website.