STUST Applied Japanese Department and Aomori Chuo Gakuin University, in response to their online collaboration, especially planned the "Online Cherry Picking Exchange Meeting" to maintain the exchanges between Taiwan and Japan during the pandemic. It was held across the sea in early July. During the cherry harvest season, through international video connections, students from STUST were led to visit the Aomori Sightseeing Apple Orchard, a 15-minute drive from the university. In addition to cherries, the farm also plants apples, peaches, pears and other crops. Students from Aomori Chuo Gakuin University in Japan made an introduction with a live broadcast. STUST students asked a lot of questions in their participation and experienced the fun of fruit picking together.

[STUST Applied Japanese Department and her sister school Aomori Chuo Gakuin University held an online cherry picking exchange meeting. Two different varieties of cherries were shown (left: Summit, right: Sato Nishiki).]

The exchange between STUST and Aomori Chuo Gakuin University in Japan started in 2011 before they signed a sister school in 2013. Over the past, students have been selected to exchange and study abroad. In addition to studying abroad, they have also had the opportunity to go to Towada Village, the largest tourist hotel in the region with beautiful scenery. In the summer internship, 54 students from STUST’s Applied Japanese Department have been to the hotel for internships over the past 8 years, and students from Aomori Central College also goes to STUST to participate in the Chinese and Taiwanese Cultural Experience Camp every year before the summer vacation. The two universities had had a lively exchange before this year, when the exchange was forced to suspend due to the impact of the pandemic.

[STUST Applied Japanese Department and her sister school Aomori Chuo Gakuin University held an online cherry picking exchange meeting.]

A student of Aomori Chuo Gakuin University and Ms. Tomiko Kawamura, the presenter of the farm, led STUST students to the cherry orchard through the camera on July 3. She first introduced the types of cherries, demonstrating how to pick cherries and reminding them of matters to pay attention to. The cherry varieties introduced this time included Sato Nishiki, Summit, Juno Heart, and Nanyo. Among them, Juno Heart has a heart-shaped appearance and is a new variety unique to Aomori Prefecture. At the first auction this year, the top 15 boxes were sold for 450,000 yen, which is equivalent to a cherry with a price up to 30,000 yen. In addition, the same cherry tree can be grafted to produce different varieties of cherries. For Taiwanese students, these were new knowledge that they had never heard before. The whole video exchange meeting was full of exclamations. During the synchronized online participation process, the students of STUST were not only highly interested in the knowledge about cherry-related, but also curious about the farm facilities, enthusiastically asking a lot of questions. Japanese local farmers responded enthusiastically to students' questions.

[Students from STUST’s Japanese sister school Aomori Chuo Gakuin University and the farm presenter—Tomoko Kawamura (second from right) in the online exchange.]

Mei-Hua Deng, Chair of Applied Japanese Department at STUST, said that although students are currently unable to go abroad to exchange their experiences with those from their sister schools, they have also created a new exchange model due to the pandemic. Through this online cherry picking exchange meeting, students did not have to fly abroad. They could also have the opportunity to exchange their experiences in practice. Not only did they learn about agricultural knowledge about cherry, they but also strengthened their practical Japanese learning through exchanges with Japanese students and farmers. In the future, STUST will continue to develop more opportunities for exchanges and cooperation, hoping to bring students different cultural experiences and enhance their international vision.

[Students from STUST’s Japanese sister school Aomori Chuo Gakuin University were demonstrating cherry picking on-site.]

[In order to control the temperature, Japanese farmers added silver tin foil to enhance the color of cherries.]

[The new expensive cherry variety—Juno Heart]

[measurement of cherry sizes on site]