MELBOURNE, Australia — 1 October 2026 — For over 10 years, with the support of educators and governments in Australia and Japan, Language Discovery Group (https://www.palaygo.com/en/) has run an educational exchange program that brings Japanese students to Australia for homestays and local school experiences. Now, for the first time ever, Australian primary students and their families can participate in a year-long cultural immersion program. This extracurricular opportunity includes a week-long homestay in Sapporo, Japan, that can include siblings and parents from both Australian and Japanese families.

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In July 2026, Australia welcomed a group of Japanese students, who described their experience as transformative:

 

“Just nine days changed my view on life. I can't wait to visit again!” Reflected one Grade 6 student.
“I was nervous at first, but my host family was kind and made me feel at home," said another.

Some connections formed through the program created relationships that have continued to deepen as the students grow older together. In some cases, Australian host families have travelled to Japan to visit the students they took in, and some students have returned to Australia to reunite with their former hosts. What began as a child-to-child exchange has grown into lasting friendships that transcend distance and culture.

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2026 also marks the 50th anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation between Australia and Japan. While the first 50 years of the treaty established strong trade, political and cultural ties, Language Discovery Group is now planning to kickstart the next 50 years by investing in early childhood and family-to-family connections.

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Building on its decade of exchange, Language Discovery Group is calling for expressions of interest from Australian families for Palaygo Stay, a new immersion program that sends primary and early-secondary school students (Years 3 to 7) to Sapporo, Japan, alongside their families, for a week of school life, homestay and skiing. This opportunity is then followed by a full year of ongoing friendship with Japanese students and families through the company’s unique and patented online Palaygo Talk and Palaygo Mail platforms, which can sustain and develop lively and cultural conversations regardless of language proficiencies on both ends.

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“Palaygo Stay is built around the idea that one week in Japan can spark a genuine interest in language and cultural connection, not just a holiday memory,” said Frank Noda, CEO and Founder of Language Discovery Group. “Students attend a normal school day alongside their Japanese classmates before returning to a welcoming host family. Even after they’ve flown home, they can keep their new friendships alive and develop language skills for a full year through safe, supervised video chats and messaging on Palaygo Talk. With this program, many more families can stay connected for a long period of time”

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Program details

The inaugural intake begins with an online exchange from November 2026, followed by the in-person program in Japan from 15–22 January 2027, with participating students attending a local school in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Students attend a normal school day alongside their Japanese classmates during the week, and stay with a host family on weekends, building connections that extend well beyond the classroom. The program is open to children in Years 3 to 7, with options for teenage siblings to join the family-connection component online or onsite as well.

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The program is being run in cooperation with PUKEKO, a local community organisation based in Sapporo, ensuring a safe, well-supported experience for first-time visitors to Japan.