Korean-Friendly Saga Prefecture Joins Hana Tour’s ‘Hope Travel’ Exchange
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Saga Prefecture, one of Japan’s most Korea-friendly regions, partnered with Hana Tour and the Saga Tourism Federation for the Hana Tour ‘Hope Travel’ project — a social-impact travel program supporting community groups since 2005. From Nov. 7–10, multicultural Korean youth basketball team “Global Friends” and Saga Ballooners academy players held joint practices and a friendly match at Saga Arena, with about 20 children (grades 3–6) mixed across teams and serving as player escorts at a pro game. Participants also visited Arita for pottery experience and Ureshino Onsen (a hot spring) to explore local culture. A post-trip survey (5-point scale) showed strong gains in teamwork (4.9), confidence to try new activities (4.8), and interest in Japanese culture (4.8). Organizers say the program fostered communication, respect, and social value creation through travel, and Hana Tour plans to expand such ESG-oriented social contributions.
