Big Field LLC
A specialized educational travel organization creating cultural exchange programs in Japan. Moving beyond traditional tourism, we focus on ‘Immersion over Tourism’, incorporating host family stays, navigating new locations, and community connection.
What is Big Field Travel?
Big Field designs and leads immersive international programs for students and educators. Our programs are built on long-standing relationships with partner schools, host families, and cultural institutions. Students participate in daily life abroad, taking on real responsibility within another culture rather than observing it from a distance.
Japan is the foundation of Big Field Travel. Through decades-long relationships, students participate in school exchanges, homestays, cultural study, and site-based learning that emphasizes history, memory, and contemporary life.
Why Big Field Travel?
Yukiyo Moorman has facilitated these programs for more than 20 years, typically with groups of 13–25 students. Exchanges are offered every other year and are developed in close collaboration with partner schools and educators.
Host family stays — students live within local communities
School partnerships — exchange with peers, not passive observation
Careful pacing — fewer locations and longer stays
Experienced leadership — deep familiarity with language, culture, and logistics
Japan is the foundation of Big Field Travel. Through decades-long relationships, students participate in school exchanges, homestays, cultural study, and site-based learning that emphasizes history, memory, and contemporary life.
Collective Excellence
Fukushima — a coastal prefecture in northeastern Japan known for its resilient communities and scenic landscapes.
Our adventure began in Fukushima, where students visited the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Iwaki. Students interacted with Professor Suzuki, a permanent researcher with a PhD in Human Sciences at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum. She has studied the support and resilience of children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake for many years. On March 11th of this year, she published “Disaster and Child Development: Support and Resilience Learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake” with Akashi Shoten.
Reflecting on the disaster response firsthand helped students cultivate deep empathy and draw inspiration from the incredible strength shown by the local community during recovery. In addition we stayed at the Nakoso Onsen Resort as they assisted us in navigating our day to day activities!
Toyama - Let's draw the future together. Let me connect with the world and share what we create.
We traveled to Toyama for a 6-day international program: the 2026 High School Manga & Art International Forum in Takaoka. Warmly welcomed by Kazuya Kometani and the staff at Takaoka Ryukoku High School, our students joined peers from the United States (Walt Whitman High School) and Mongolia (Erdmiin Undraal School) for a homestay and collaborative forum under the theme "Let's draw the future. Let me connect with the world."
Throughout the forum, students engaged in:
Illustration Workshops: Learning portrait sketching with world-renowned caricaturist Mr. Takashi Yamazaki.
Musical Exchange: Experiencing international music with DJ Tatezuka 2000.
School & Cultural Immersion: Participating in joint classroom activities, club sessions, and collaborative artwork creation to draw the world’s "MIRAI" (future) together.
Students left in tears after developing strong friendships that will hopefully last beyond this trip. The staff organized an amazing event and had the students thoroughly entertained.
Shimonoseki Experience — a memorable journey through history, culture, and coastal charm
Following Osaka, our group traveled south to Shimonoseki, where students were warmly welcomed into the homes of local host families. Throughout their stay, students experienced daily life alongside their host parents, exploring multiple cultural and historical landmarks across the city, visiting local shrines, and taking in views from the iconic Kanmon Bridge. The homestay featured memorable community gatherings including launching fireworks under the evening sky and a special school arts appreciation event at Shimonoseki Civic Hall featuring a live performance by the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra.
Our students were invited for this event and heard the classical music performance as well Hayatomo Gakuen’s Brassband performance in which they were given a very special practice & lesson with the professional musicians. Their performance was very impressive. They welcomed us with a rendition of John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
The administrators of Hayatomo Gakuen invited the 4 chaperones to a traditional Japanese dinner with the view of KanMon Bridge.
On the way back, we visited the peace memorial at Hiroshima and took the ferry to Miyajima Island.
Osaka, a lively city in Japan, known for its vibrant street life and rich cultural heritage
In Osaka, Guided by “sit-down” comic Shoto-san, students immersed themselves in the city’s lively energy and rich performing arts traditions. In the vibrant district of Dotonbori, the group participated in a dynamic cultural workshop centered on Rakugo, traditional Japanese comic storytelling.
Students discovered stage audio techniques, took to the stage for a hands-on storytelling experience, witnessed a Nankin Tamasudare (woven mat) performance, and concluded with an interactive live Taiko drum demonstration—blending hands-on learning with the legendary warmth and energy of Osaka. The Rakugo performance incorporated language learning by teaching our group some Japanese words and phrases, and it allowed our students to share the many languages that they spoke, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, and Chinese.
Tokyo — a sprawling, dynamic metropolis where cutting-edge technology and enduring tradition coexist.
In the last portion of our trip we stayed in Ueno Youth Hostel in Tokyo for eight days. Students attended a college visit to Temple University Japan, where they were presented with the option to consider continuing their education in Japan after high school. They also watched a live Kabuki performance at Ota Kumin Hall Aprico, where the performers taught the audience about the elements of Kabuki.
with iconic local landmarks and a formal visit to the National Diet Building, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Nakamise Shopping Street in Asakusa, retro video game stores in Akihabara Electric Town, and Namja Town Amusement Park in Sunshine City.
One culinary highlight of Tokyo was a short apprenticeship at Tokyo Sushi School, where students learned to make nigiri-sushi with (name of sushi chef). We learned how the perfect rice ball needs to weigh 15 grams, and he impressed us with his ability to determine the weight of any rice ball just by looking at it.
During our Tokyo program, 20 students ascended to the top of Mt. Fuji. They spent one short night at 8th station, waking up at 1:45 AM to finish the hike in the dark before seeing the sunrise at the summit. Everybody made a safe trip and accomplished this program.
On our final night in Tokyo, the students attended a Yakult Swallows baseball game as distinguished guests of former Takaoka-Ryokoku student (name?), who now plays for the Swallows.
Experience Kyoto — where tradition meets innovation.
In Kyoto, our group embarked on an inspiring journey through Japan’s rich history and cultural heritage. Guided by David Hughes to whom we extend our deepest gratitude, students visited important cultural sites like Golden Pavillion (Kinkaku-ji), Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, Nijō Castle, Sanjūsangen-dō Temple, and Fushimi-Inari Taisha. Later, students roleplayed in traditional Edo-style outfits and makeup on the movie sets at Uzumasa Kyoto Village Studio Park. Before leaving Kyoto, our group made sure to befriend some local wildlife atop Mount Arashiyama at the Iwatayama Monkey Park.
We also learned to make soba at Arimafujikyosei Center with expert soba noodle makers. A reporter from Yomiuri Shimbun even visited to interview students and report on the trip.
Building Possibility Together
Yukiyo Moorman
is an outstanding educator with a career spanning over 40 years. She successfully led a long-running summer exchange program, taking students to Japan more than 20 times.
In recognition of her significant contributions to Japanese language education in the United States, she received the Foreign Minister’s Award in 2017 and the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government in 2023. These honors highlight her key role in developing the Japanese language curriculum, the AP Japanese Language and Culture course, and the AP exam for secondary schools across the U.S. She has also been a long-time AP exam scorer, serving in that capacity for over 15 years.
In 2020, thanks to her advocacy, the AP Japanese exam transitioned from a floppy disk-based system to a cloud-based platform, enabling its worldwide expansion.
Beyond education, Yukiyo Moorman is the founder and CEO of September House MAJ, a nonprofit organization that provides services and support to Japanese speakers in the Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland areas.
She is also one of the seven original task force members and a contributor to the Japanese American Care Fund, further demonstrating her lifelong commitment to the community.
Akiko Moorman
Akiko Moorman is a dynamic and accomplished professional with a diverse background in both the culinary and healthcare fields. If you ever find yourself in Chicago, be sure to visit her Michelin-starred restaurant—an experience not to be missed.
She is the proud mother of two children, Talia (17) and Noa (15), and serves as the Director of Operations at EL Ideas, where she has been a key part of the team for over 11 years.
In addition to her leadership role in the culinary world, Akiko also supports our program as the team nurse. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing – Clinical Nurse Leader (MSN-CNL) from Rush University between 2019 and 2021, and has recently completed her PhD in Nursing at the same institution.
Dedicated to youth development and cultural exchange, Akiko has generously chaperoned our Japan trip more than seven times, contributing her expertise, care, and vibrant energy to every experience.
Michelle Innerarity
Michelle Innerarity is an engineering educator who brings a unique “full-circle” perspective to the Big Field team. As a proud alumna and former student of Yukiyo Moorman, Michelle transitioned from a program participant to a lead organizer, leveraging over six years of experience in planning and logistics to mentor the next generation of travelers
Michelle has done a diverse course load in a variety of engineering, education, media and communication disciplines.
Michelle is driven by the belief that diversity of thought and genuine people-to-people experiences are the catalysts for a better world. By blending her technical expertise with cultural exploration, she strives to create thoughtful learners who are as comfortable navigating new environments as they are solving engineering challenges. Having personally chaperoned multiple exchanges to Japan, she is dedicated to building student confidence through immersive, real-world discovery.
