About 30 students from our school’s third-year IM and IG courses who are studying French visited the Institut français du Kansai in Kyoto City. It was a valuable opportunity to tour a hub for French language education and the promotion of French culture—something students do not often get to experience firsthand.

The Institut français du Kansai building is a historic white Western-style mansion with roots dating back to 1937. Students also learned that before relocating, the school originally opened in 1927 at what is now Villa Kujoyama, and many were surprised by its long history.

On the day of the visit, students took part in a rich and engaging program, including:

At the Campus France office inside the institute, students received a detailed explanation from specialist staff about the study abroad process and the required language proficiency level. The session also encouraged students to reflect on their own French skills, and many questions were asked afterward.

In the institute’s media library, which offers a wide selection of French books and video materials, students eagerly browsed resources one by one. They were also impressed by the rooftop view overlooking Kyoto University and Mt. Daimonji, with comments such as, “I can’t believe a place like this exists in Kyoto!”

To conclude the visit, students took on a French culture quiz in French. Although some questions were challenging, they achieved an impressively high accuracy rate, and it was inspiring to see them learning with such enthusiasm and enjoyment.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone at the Institut français du Kansai for their warm welcome. We hope to apply what we learned during this visit to our future French studies and career planning, while continuing to strengthen our partnership moving forward.