1976 (Showa 51) – Opening

First opened on May 10, 1976, as a community youth education facility, the facility re-opened as the 13th National Ministry of Education facility (the last Youth House) on November 14 of the same year. Later, another 14 National Kids Outdoor Learning Centers would be established nationwide.

2001 (Heisei 13) – Independent Administrative Corporation

On April 1, 2001, the facility transitioned to an independent administrative corporation “National Youth House” and was renamed, “Independent Administrative Corporation, National Youth House, National Sanbe Youth Center”. In other words, the “National Kids Outdoor Learning Center” was renamed the “Independent Administrative Corporation, National Kids Outdoor Learning Center”. At that time, the slogan “Life~SANbe” was created and used on facility posters. The word “life” in this case means “how to live”, “human life”, “throughout your lifetime”, “attitude for living”, etc. The “SAN” represents the “sun” while the “be” comes from the “be” in the phrase “let it be”, or to allow things to exist just as they are. The slogan is still displayed in the entryway of the facility and welcomes guests as they arrive.

2006 (Heisei 18) – Corporate Integration

In 2006, the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, National Youth Houses, National Kids Outdoor Learning Centers were integrated to form the National Institution for Youth Education. As a part of this corporate integration, the facility was renamed the “National Sanbe Youth Friendship Center”, and the name changed from “Kids Outdoor Learning Center” to “Youth Outdoor Learning Center”.