Clubs and Circles

International students are strongly encouraged to participate in club and circle activities as the most productive way to get involved with local students. You may enroll in martial art clubs such as judo, kendo, shorinji kempo, aikido, and karate, or cultural clubs such as Japanese dancing, ikebana (flower arrangement), shodo (calligraphy), brass band, and choir. You are bound to find an activity to match your interests. If not, you are always welcome to establish your own!

See the complete list below, as well as brief descriptions provided by the club members:

*This list is current as of Fall Semester, 2010

Sports Clubs

Aikido
Aikido is a self-defense art that does not require much physical strength. If you want to learn how to protect yourself or just to experience a traditional Japanese martial art, the team welcomes you to join their practices.

Aikido Club

Badminton
The Badminton Club practices the basics of badminton and participates in tournaments. They welcome all levels of players from beginner to advanced.

Rubber-Ball Baseball
The AIU Baseball Team has participated in the East Japan University rubber-ball baseball tournament several times.

Rubber Baseball Club

Basketball
The Basketball Team practices the basics of basketball and participates in matches periodically.

Futsal (Mens, Womens)
These teams practice futsal a few times a week and have begun to participate in league matches.

Handball
The Handball Team doesn't just practice handball - they hold technique study sessions with books and DVDs, and go to see handball tournaments.

Hopping Runners
The Hopping Runners club goes jogging together to build strength and improve health.

Judo
The Judo Club enjoys practicing Judo holds, throws, and more.

Kendo
The Kendo Club practices Kendo, the Japanese martial art that uses a bamboo sword, and aims to build both mental and physical strength.

Shorinji Kempo
You may have thought that Shorinji Kempo is a Chinese martial art, but it was actually born in Japan. The club is open to everyone from beginners to black belts.

Snowboarding
The Snowboarding Club hosts a snowboarding camp in January and February, and practices on some of the snowy hills around the AIU campus. In the off-season they train together at the AIU gym.

Soft Tennis
You may not be familiar with this form of tennis which is mostly popular in Asia, but the rules are similar to tennis. The team invites you to join whether or not you have played it before.

Swimming
The Swimming Club goes to a local pool to practice techniques, compete against each other, and some of the members participate in competitions.

Table Tennis
The Table Tennis Club practices hard to prepare for competitions outside AIU.

Tennis
The Tennis Club looks forward to playing tennis with members of all levels from beginner to advanced.

Volleyball (Mens, Womens)
The Volleyball Club sometimes has hard practices, but mostly they try to keep them fun and enjoyable. Players of any level are welcome.

 

Cultural Activities Clubs

AIU Kanto Team
The AIU Kanto Team participates in the annual Kanto festival. Members practice balancing lanterns on poles and show off their skills in the festival.

Art Club
The art club is relatively new, but they are growing and expanding their activities. This year they prepared a gallery of their works at the school festival.

Bible Study
This club gathers at a professor's home for dinner and reads and interprets bible passages together.

Calligraphy
The Calligraphy Club studies the art of writing Japanese characters in the hopes that its members will get a better understanding of Japanese culture.

Culture Club
The Culture Club studies popular culture from all around the world.

Current Affairs Study
The Current Affairs Study Club discusses current events and makes presentations on different topics. Sometimes they invite professors to discuss the events together.

Drama
The Drama Club practices and performs drama. This year, they put on a play at the school festival.

Latin Culture
The Latin Culture Club listens to Latin music, studies Spanish, watches and discusses movies, and learns Spanish dance. 

Photography
The Photo Club goes on photo-taking trips, learns about technique, and studies how to develop film.

Rakugo
Rakugo is a traditional form of Japanese storytelling. This club practices it in English and Japanese.

Tea Ceremony
The Tea Ceremony Club studies various aspects of the Japanese tea ceremony. Members learn about Japanese culture through tea.

Tea Ceremony, Ikebana, Club

• Yui-Paku (Okinawan Culture)
  The Yui-Paku Club studies Okinawan culture, which is unlike the culture found in the rest of Japan. They even study its local dialect which some Japanese people feel is like a foreign language.

 

Our Kanto Club's performance in the summer of 2008

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Music & Dance Clubs

AIU Dance
The AIU Dance Club practices various forms of dance and practices for performances, such as the AIU festival.

AIU Music
The AIU Music Club brass band performs at events in and outside of AIU. 

AIU Music Club

AIU Rock Music
The AIU Rock Music Club holds a live concert once a month. They have a practice studio set aside in the student hall and use it as much as they can.

Choir
The Choir practices songs for events. Members enjoy singing songs that they select themselves.

Japanese Traditional Dance
This club mostly practices Kabuki, but also learns a school of Japanese dance particular to Akita known as Bando Ryu.

 

International Understanding & Language Clubs

AIU Model UN
The members of the AIU Model UN become delegates from different countries to understand current events and the state of the world.

Geography Lovers
This club loves learning about the nature and culture of countries all over the world. Together, they watch DVDs, hold discussions, and study different places around the globe.

Global Campus Talk
This club discusses global issues such as environmental problems and tries to discover both their causes and effects. In the past, they collaborated with students from other universities and studied natural resource development.

Japanese Conversation Friends
This club pairs international students with Japanese conversation partners so they can practice their languages with each other and make new friends.

Taiwan Japan Student Conference
This club studies about Taiwan and learns Chinese from international students. They also watch Taiwanese dramas and make Taiwanese food.

Sign Language
The Sign Language Club studies both American Sign Language and Japanese Sign Language. They also visit a local school for the deaf for barbecues and other events, and prepare performances for the school festival.

 

Service Clubs

Ecology & Environment
The Ecology & Environment Club does farming and green tourism projects to better understand the environment and share ideas about sustainability.

Jump Starter
"Jump Starter" is named after the machine which re-charges a car battery. Its aim is to reactivate and energize Akita Prefecture. Their current project is to hold an English Camp for Independent Learning in Akita.

Mitsubachi
The "Honeybee" club connects with people in the local area mostly through teaching English at elementary schools.

 

Service Travel ICC
The Service Travel ICC Club learns about international problems and developing countries to see what they can to help. Members aim to deepen their knowledge about international cooperation.

 

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