卒業旅行

• 読み: そつぎょうりょこう
• ローマ字: sotsugyou ryokou
• 漢字の分解: 卒業 (graduation) + 旅行 (travel) → graduation trip
• 発音: /so.tsu.gjoː.ɾjo.koː/

意味

Graduation trip — a celebratory trip taken before entering the workforce, typically in February or March of the final university year.

A deeply ingrained tradition in Japanese student culture, 卒業旅行 is often seen as the last hurrah of freedom before the structured life of a company employee begins. Students typically travel with close friends to domestic or international destinations. It carries a bittersweet emotional weight — celebration mixed with the awareness that the carefree days are ending. Budget destinations like Southeast Asia are popular.

例文

1. 卒業旅行どこ行く？ヨーロッパにしない？
2. 卒業旅行の思い出が今でも一番の宝物。
3. バイト頑張って卒業旅行の資金貯めてる。

使い方ガイド

場面: university, friends, travel planning

トーン: nostalgic, excited, bittersweet

正しい言い方

• 卒業旅行は一生の思い出になるよ。 (Your graduation trip will be a memory for a lifetime.)
• 卒業旅行でグアム行ってきた！ (I went to Guam for my graduation trip!)

避ける言い方

• 社会人が休暇で旅行するのを「卒業旅行」とは言わない (A working adult taking vacation isn't called a 'graduation trip')

よくある間違い

• Thinking 卒業旅行 can happen any time after graduation — it specifically refers to the trip before starting work
• Not understanding the emotional weight — it is seen as a farewell to student life, not just a vacation

起源と歴史

Compound of 卒業 (graduation) + 旅行 (travel). The tradition became widespread from the 1980s-1990s as international travel became more accessible to Japanese students. It is now a cultural rite of passage for university students.

文化的背景

時代: 1980s-1990s tradition, still universal

世代: University students (21-22)

社会的背景: Universal among university students

地域メモ: Used across Japan. February-March is peak season. Hawaii, Guam, Southeast Asia, and domestic onsen are popular destinations.