位於埼玉縣的早稻田大學附設高中，自由的學風讓五位16至19歲之間的高中女生中島真理子、山下凛花、松野凛菜、秋山友花、伊藤有香，決定報名參加第20屆智慧鐵人創意競賽，在校內通過選拔後被選為隊員代表日本隊《Waseda》，於今年夏天踏上比賽的遠途，第一次來台的小鐵人們相當期待疫情後難得的面對面交流機會。
Waseda University High School is located in Saitama Prefecture, five high school girls Mariko Nakajima, Rinka Yamashita, Rinna Matsuno, Tomoka Akiyama, and Yuka Ito, decided to apply for the 20th Intelligent Ironman Creative Competition. After passing the audition, they were selected as team members to represent the Japanese team, and started their journey to the competition in the summer of this year. It was their first time in Taiwan, and they were looking forward to the rare opportunity to meet face-to-face.
成員們在暑假時開始各自訓練，做足來台前的準備。伊藤有香回憶，練習隊呼表演時，曾嘗試了解台灣流行文化，包含歌曲與舞蹈等，甚至詢問在日本交流的台灣同學，最後才決定帶來兼具日本傳統文化色彩與流行音樂的表演。
The members began their training during the summer vacation. Yuka Ito recalled that when the practice team called for the performance, they tried to learn about Taiwan’s popular culture, including songs and dances, and even asked Taiwanese exchange students before deciding to bring a performance that combines Japanese traditional culture with popular music.
秋山友花認為，因為他們較嬌小，很多關卡對他們還說很困難。（攝影／鍾知諭）
國際隊進入決賽，除需克服語言阻礙外，也說，因為隊上只有女生，大家身高都不比其他隊伍高，部分關卡更顯困難。問及印象深刻的關卡，日本隊熱烈討論「按鈕」、「蜘蛛」，最後才想起是體其關卡「WGP」。他們也總異口同聲說著「雖然困難，但很有趣！」展現解開難題的熱情與喜悅。
The international team had to overcome the language barrier. Tomoka Akiyama also said that some of the levels were difficult because there were only girls on the team and they were not very tall. When asked about the most memorable level, the Japanese team enthusiastically discussed “buttons” and “spiders” before finally remembering the contest called “WGP”. They also said in unison, “It’s hard, but it’s fun! “ They showed their enthusiasm and joy in solving the problems.
日本隊每個人都有擅長的領域，伊藤有香比較喜歡自然；山下凛花則擅長手工藝；隊長中島真理子在物理領域展現專業；秋山友花擔任隊內的體育好手，與松野凛菜一樣都喜歡歷史題。多元領域的融合，使他們在破關時能應對各種關卡。
Each member of the Japanese team has a specialty. Yuka Ito prefers science, Rinka Yamashita is good at crafts, team leader Mariko Nakajima specialises in physics, and Tomoka Akiyama serves as the team’s top athlete. Tomoka Akiyama and Rinna Matsuno enjoy history. The combination of their abilities allows them to tackle a wide range of obstacles.
隊長中島真理子最擅長的是物理。（攝影／鍾知諭）
另一邊的主軸任務，伊藤有香分享，每天晚上團隊都會一起研究主軸任務給的提示，討論呈現方式。最終選擇喬治佛洛伊德之死，並以「黑人生命運動（Black Lives Matter）」為題。
On the other hand, for the Japanese team’s main task, Yuka Ito shared that every night the team would work together to study the prompts given in the main task and discuss the presentation. In the end, they chose George Floyd’s death and used “Black Lives Matter” as the main theme.
伊藤有香解釋，「歷史是個不斷重複的過程，因此我們不認為下一個五年，種族主義或任何歧視就不再出現。」最後日本隊決定把表演場地布置成一個家，家庭一起觀看電視，藉此呈現新聞媒體如何影響世界，表達只要有一個歧視的聲音出現，就可能影響多數人，日本隊希望傳遞此理念給所有小鐵人們，期盼一同正視種族歧視問題。
Yuka Ito said, “history is kind of repeating itself. Because we don’t think that in the next five years, there’s gonna be no racism, or any discrimination. “. Therefore, the Japanese team decided to set up the performance venue as a home, and the family watched the TV together, in order to show how the news media affects the world, so if there is only one discriminatory voice, it may affect the majority of people. The Japanese team hopes to pass this idea, in the hope that everyone can face up to the problem of racial discrimination.
日本隊上所有成員都是第一次來到台灣，中島真理子分享，對於台灣親切的人們，與可愛老舊的房屋印象深刻，秋山友花形容，一切就如電影畫面般，他們也說，所有體驗都非常新鮮！全部都很印象深刻。
All the members of the “Waseda” arrived in Taiwan for the first time. Mariko Nakajima shared that she was impressed by the friendly people and the lovely old houses, Tomoka Akiyama described everything as being like a movie, and they said that all the experiences were very fresh!