Kai-You-Kai

Youth Exchange Partner since 2007

Young volunteers offer insights into rural Japan in Wakayama Prefecture – with coastal landscapes, mountains, and rich traditions.

The travel report (in German) of the most recent youth exchange to Japan in August 2025 is now online! A ten-member group of young people was sent by ÖJAB to Kai-You-Kai in Wakayama and experienced a varied and personal travel program over the course of two weeks.

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The non-profit organization Austrian-Japanese Youth Exchange (Ger.: Österreichisch-Japanischer Jugendaustausch – ÖJJ), primarily supported by ÖJAB as a member organization, conducts annual youth exchange programs with Kai-You-Kai.
In one year, 10 to 12 young people from Austria who meet the ÖJJ participation criteria travel to Wakayama, Japan. The following year, 10 to 12 young people from Wakayama travel to Austria. These trips always take place in summer, last about two weeks, and are made possible through volunteer efforts and donations.

Annual Reciprocal Visits

For the Austrian groups, Kai-You-Kai organizes a tour through rural Wakayama Prefecture, featuring cultural highlights such as a visit to the sacred mountain Kōya-san, the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage trail, and workshops on calligraphy and traditional Japanese paper-making. Destinations outside Wakayama, such as Osaka, are also included.

For the groups from Wakayama, ÖJJ organizes a program in Austria that includes sightseeing in Vienna and Salzburg, a visit to an ÖJAB senior residence, a school visit, conversations with refugees, a visit to the United Nations in Vienna, and much more.

A fixed part of each program — both in Wakayama and in Austria — is a weekend stay with a host family, allowing participants to experience everyday family life in the host country.

A group of twelve people is standing in front of a red temple gate in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Lanterns are hanging above the staircase, with large sake barrels and stone lanterns placed beside them. In the foreground, there is a large stone with a Japanese inscription and a pink folded umbrella. The group is participating in a guided tour organized by Kai-You-Kai, which includes cultural highlights such as the sacred Mount Kōya, the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage route, as well as workshops on calligraphy and traditional papermaking.

Kai-You-Kai: youth exchange with Wakayama.

Summer 2026: Kai-You-Kai youth group will visit Austria

In summer 2026 a youth group of 10 people from Wakayama will visit Austria. Volunteers are always welcome. We are looking for host families, who invite one Japanese guest for one weekend. Once the dates and details are confirmed, they will be published on ÖJAB‘s website. – Contact: japan@oejab.at

Most recently, from August 6 to 20, 2025, 10 young people from Austria visited Wakayama. The next trip to Wakayama is therefore expected to take place in summer 2027.

Kai-You-Kai – A Regional Japanese Youth Organization

Kai-You-Kai consists of young people in Wakayama Prefecture who volunteer in various social activities aimed at fostering a multicultural society.
Kai-You-Kai is part of the nationwide umbrella organization IYEO – International Youth Exchange Organization of Japan, which aims to empower future generations, support local communities, and contribute to global society.

ÖJAB first met Kai-You-Kai in 2005 during a Japanese-Austrian youth expert exchange program. In summer 2007, an Austrian group traveled to Wakayama for the first youth exchange program with Kai-You-Kai. In summer 2008, a youth group from Wakayama visited Austria in return.
Since then, the reciprocal exchange program has continued annually (only interrupted from 2020 to 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Austrian participants are introduced to Japanese calligraphy (Kai-You-Kai 2018).

about the Austrian-Japanese Youth Exchange