LEAP encompasses the best practices of student-centered learning. Your Tour Director will get to know you and your group, will push you to think deeply, and will prepare thoughtful, hands-on opportunities to display your learning. LEAP is exclusive to WorldStrides and is what makes our Tour Directors unique and our programs transformative.

Explore hands-on exhibits on robotics, space, AI, and environmental innovation, including interactive displays and demonstrations with humanoid robots such as ASIMO, showcasing how emerging technologies shape our future.

In the event of a large-scale disaster, such as an earthquake centered below Tokyo, The Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park acts as a central base of operations for disaster prevention in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area that houses emergency response facilities including local disaster management headquarters, as well as institutions that compile disaster-related information and coordinate emergency disaster measures.

TeamLab Planets is a museum comprised of 4 large-scale artwork spaces and 2 gardens created by art collective teamLab. Visitors go barefoot and immerse themselves in the vast artworks together with others. The artworks change under the presence of people, blurring the perception of boundaries between the self and the works. Other people also create change in the artworks, blurring the boundaries between themselves and the works, and creating a continuity between the self, the art, and others.

Located an hour north of Tokyo, Tsukuba is knows as "Japan's Science City". It is home to Tsukuba Science City and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Take a guided tour of the Space Centre. The areas visited are subject to change based on daily operations, but the tour typically includes a visit of the astronaut training area, a tour of the Kibo operation control room and a screening of an introductory video to the Tsukuba Space Center.

Guided tour to introduce you to Cyberdine Inc. and HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) technology.

How will science and technology shape our future? Explore the answers at AIST-Cube, formerly known as Science Square TSUKUBA. This newly reimagined exhibition space offers an engaging look at how cutting-edge research is being applied to improve everyday life. Through immersive displays and interactive exhibits, AIST-Cube highlights environmentally-conscious innovations and real-world solutions to global challenges, from sustainable energy and robotics to aging society technologies.

Anime is one of Japan’s largest creative industries. The first Japanese animation was produced in 1917, and today both Anime and Manga, Japan’s distinct style of comic art, are loved worldwide for their detail, storytelling, and expressive range. During this visit, students can experience the process of creating anime themselves, including animation drawing and stop-motion recording.

NIMS, the National Institute for Materials Science, is a world-class research institution specializing in materials research across metals, organic, and inorganic substances.

The center was opened in 2014, alongside the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, a 42.8 km length of track where Maglev train test runs are taking place in preparation for commercial use. It is the only place in Japan where visitors can see a Maglev train up-close running at a speed of 500 km/hour. Yes, 500 km per hour!

The Nagoya City Science Museum is one of Japan’s leading science centres, known for its striking silver globe housing one of the world’s largest planetariums. The museum features interactive, hands-on exhibits covering topics such as space, physics, biology, weather, and environmental science. Explore realistic science labs, experience a simulated tornado or cold room, and enjoy dynamic demonstrations that make complex scientific concepts easy to understand.

Museum staff will carefully guide you through an introduction of manga, its drawing techniques, and tips on how to draw characters, explanations of manga 'manpu' (symbols and signs) which express characters' feelings.

Fushimi Inari Taisha is one of Japan’s most iconic Shinto shrines, famous for its thousands of bright vermilion torii gates that form winding paths up Mount Inari.

Enjoy a hands-on cultural experience with local musicians that will refresh your body and mind. Learn about the history and basic structure of the taiko drumming technique with a simple traditional song.

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is one of Kyoto’s top sights and for good reason: standing amid these soaring stalks of bamboo is like being in another world.

Visit the historical area of Gion which is most know for its Geisha culture.