November 14, 2025
When the first Ritsumeikan students arrived at UBC more than three decades ago, their journey was more than a study abroad experience — it was the start of a living experiment in cultural connection.
Their home was a brand-new building at 6460 Agronomy Road: Ritsumeikan-UBC House, a residence created specifically for the UBC–Ritsumeikan Academic Exchange Program.
Purpose-built in 1992, it remains one of the few campus residences designed entirely around international friendship and shared learning — a space where cultural exchange happens not in a classroom, but around the dinner table.
A Vision Built in Brick and Cedar
The idea for Ritsumeikan-UBC House was born in 1991, when UBC and Ritsumeikan University launched a pioneering academic exchange program welcoming 100 students from Kyoto for an academic year at UBC. Leaders from both universities wanted the experience to be immersive, not transactional. To succeed, students would need a space to live, study and form friendships across cultures.
The building was designed to encourage international relationship building. A place where every meal and every study session became part of the learning experience.
A Daily Exchange of Culture
Life inside Ritsumeikan-UBC House has always been lively. When it first opened, students enjoyed learning new recipes, gained confidence in interacting in English and celebrated holidays from around the world. For many, their first friendships in a new country began in the shared kitchen or laundry room. Conversations over meals became impromptu sites for linguacultural exchanges and learning; group study sessions turned into lifelong bonds.
A Symbol of Partnership
Beyond its walls, Ritsumeikan-UBC House stands as a physical symbol of the enduring partnership between the two universities. The building itself was a gift of trust — evidence of a shared belief that education should transcend borders.
Over the years, thousands of students have passed through its doors, each adding to the legacy of connection that defines the UBC–Ritsumeikan relationship. Alumni often return to visit the building decades later, describing it as a place that changed the course of their lives.
Still Thriving, 35 Years Later
Today, the residence is a small but vibrant community — a ‘home away from home’ for both domestic and international students. Though its furnishings have been refreshed and technology modernized, its purpose remains unchanged: to create a welcoming, inclusive space for living and learning.
As UBC and Ritsumeikan University celebrate 35 years of partnership, the residence stands as a living monument to that shared history — a reminder that the most powerful education often begins with a simple act of hospitality.
Read more stories about the UBC-Ritsumeikan partnership:
Celebrating 35 Years of Partnership: The UBC–Ritsumeikan Story
