A week where skin, heart, and mind are in full swing! 2026 Parent-Child Study Tour in Penang Report (Part 2)
A week that you can't experience just by sightseeing, where parents and children are excited, and their skin, hearts, and minds are in full swing!!
Part 1 is here!
Day 4: Everyone goes on a field trip. We talked even more than yesterday!
Wednesday, July 22nd
Second day of summer school
On this day, everyone wore the matching T-shirts they received from the school and went on a field trip.
The children, who had headed to school with slightly nervous expressions yesterday, seemed a bit more accustomed to it today. They left with big smiles on their faces.
Soon after arriving at school, they headed to a cafe near George Town and challenged themselves to make sweets together!
On the bus ride there and back, they sat next to the friends they had made yesterday, talking about Japan and asking about each other. It seems they were able to communicate even more than yesterday.
“Even if I couldn't speak English, I somehow understood!”
They seemed incredibly happy about that.
If you use the words you know, add gestures, and look at the other person's expressions, your feelings can be conveyed surprisingly well.
“I'll try to convey it somehow.”
Beyond that first step, there was the joy of being able to understand someone who speaks a different language.
After finishing the two-day summer school, they finally received their certificates of completion!
Two days of diving into an environment with a different language and culture, and interacting with people in their own way. Along with their certificates, they seem to have brought back a little bit of confidence.
Meanwhile, the dads went to visit an international school.
While the children were enjoying their field trip, the dads visited the Balik Pulau campus of the Prince of Wales Island International School (POWIIS).
POWIIS BP is an international school with a British curriculum where students from 11 to 19 years old study. There are students who commute as well as students who live in dormitories.
They listened to an explanation of the school's educational policy and toured the school. Experiencing a school environment different from Japan and seeing children from all over the world learning together became a time for the dads to think about education as well.
After the tour, they went to a Nyonya cuisine restaurant for lunch.
This is a dish unique to Penang, born from the blend of Chinese and Malay cultures. We enjoyed the flavors, which combined the aroma of spices with sweetness, spiciness, and acidity.
After that, we had a talk session with our local coordinator, Mango.
While listening to Mango's experiences with life and raising children in Penang, we discussed the educational environment in Malaysia and how to choose a place for children to learn.
It is not about which school is the best, but rather what kind of environment suits the child's personality and what the family values most.
While having many options brings its own difficulties, experiencing education and life different from Japan provided a valuable time for the fathers to think about their future parenting.
In the evening, we walked to a nearby night market.
The next day was finally the free day where each family would act on their own. We took this as a practice run for that challenge!
They seemed to find the night market, which they reached safely, very interesting, with an atmosphere similar to a Japanese festival night market.
We decided to have dinner at a nearby hawker center.
When we first visited a hawker center, we were a bit confused because we didn't know how to order or choose food, but now we have gradually gotten used to finding what we want to eat from the many stalls and ordering it ourselves.
By accumulating small 'I did it!' moments, we prepared for the big challenge of the next day.
Day 5: An exciting and nerve-wracking adventure for parents and children alone. July 23rd (Thursday)
Finally, the free day! On this day, from morning until night, each family acted entirely on their own.
Where to go? How to get there? What time to leave? What to eat? Everything was discussed and decided by the parents and children themselves.
Each family called a Grab, got into the car, and set off!
One family headed to 'ESCAPE,' where they could move their bodies and play to their heart's content in the great outdoors. They spent a relaxing day together, enjoying the attractions in the forest.
Some families went to Kek Lok Si Temple and Penang Hill. They walked around the city, enjoying the temples and scenery, and explored Penang at their own pace.
It seems there was a bit of trouble getting lost along the way, but they returned safely.
It is not just the fun times, but also the moments of getting lost or facing difficulties that they overcame together as parent and child that truly define the adventure.
It seems the father and child consulted with each other and enjoyed an exciting, heart-pounding day.
Using the experiences they had gained little by little throughout the tour so far, they spent a free day walking around Penang on their own. Everyone returned a little tougher than when the trip began.
Day 6: Sharing discoveries from the trip and finally heading home
Friday, July 24
It is finally the last day spent in Penang.
We took it a bit easy to prepare for the long journey from morning until night.
After that, we finished packing, gathered together, and prepared for the 'Trip Discovery Sharing Session'.
Looking back at our bookmarks and lining up the Instax photos we took, we reflected on what left an impression on us during this past week.
Things that were funny. Things that were delicious. Things that surprised us.
Things that were difficult. Things we challenged ourselves to do.
Everyone, both adults and children, organized their thoughts as they pleased and presented them in front of the group.
What was fun was definitely the school.
What made me happy was being able to talk with friends and people at the market.
The way the city and tourist spots looked was different from Japan.
All the food was delicious!
Before coming here, Malaysia and Penang felt like distant places.
From now on, just hearing these words will bring many things to mind.
They have become nostalgic places.
Once the reflection was over, it was finally time to check out of the condominium.
We expressed our gratitude to Mango, our local coordinator who took care of us, and headed to Penang Airport.
We departed Penang and arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore.
This time, we had a little bit of time before our connecting flight.
So, for one last challenge at the end of our trip!
We decided on a whim to go to 'Jewel,' which is adjacent to the airport.
The goal was to see the large waterfall in the center of Jewel!
However, to go to Jewel, we had to leave the transit area and enter Singapore, but the man at immigration was very kind and taught us a lot about the procedures.
Once we finished the entry procedures safely, the children were incredibly energetic, even though they should have been tired!
We keep walking, aiming for the Jewel. And finally, the massive waterfall is right before our eyes!
“I’ve seen this in my textbook!”
“I never imagined I’d actually come here!”
Everyone looks so happy to have been able to visit a place they hadn't expected to see.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to ride the Skytrain to see the waterfall from a different angle this time, but everyone was very satisfied to see such an impressive sight up close.
And now, it is finally time for our real farewell.
Here, the Kansai group heads to the boarding gate for Kansai Airport, and the Tokyo group heads to the boarding gate for Narita Airport.
The Kansai group, whose departure time was later, came to see the Tokyo group off at their boarding gate.
When they first met at Narita Airport on the first day, they were a little nervous, but
after spending a week together, they are now the best of friends.
They seem reluctant to part, finding it hard to say goodbye.
Even so, in the end, they called out, “See you later!”
and headed to their respective boarding gates.
A shared parent-child experience that stays in the skin, heart, and mind
It was a long week, but looking back, it flew by—the parent-child study tour.
The heat and humidity, the smell of the city, the food we ate for the first time.
The sights we saw at the market, and the townscape where various religions and cultures exist side by side.
The joy of feeling understood even when we could barely speak English.
Getting lost, and the times our ordered food didn't arrive.
And the people we would never have met if we hadn't come to this place.
It was a week where we felt “foreign countries” and “different cultures” not just through screens or textbooks, but with our own skin and hearts.
And the fact that parent and child were able to experience each of these things together.
Even if we were looking at the same things, we might have felt differently. Still, we have created a shared memory that we can talk about, saying, “Remember when we were there together?”
Even if we forget the small details of the trip someday, the feeling of being excited together, laughing together, and overcoming challenges together will surely remain somewhere in our hearts.
Couldn't this week's experience become a lifelong treasure for both parent and child?
Thank you all for traveling with me. Let's meet again somewhere!
