[Date & Time] Wednesday, September 14, 13:30—17:15
[Spots] Shonan International Village, Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha), Hasedera Temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, and Komachi Dori Street
[Visitors] 24 people from Japan, France, Poland, Canada, Germany, Ukraine, Israel, United States, China, and Brazil
Participants of the Academic Conference on Fuel Cell and Their Family
[Attendants] 2 KSGG members
[Language] English
According to the weather forecast, it would rain on that day. However, it didn’t rain at all luckily. Moreover, we had a pleasant tour as we didn’t suffer from the heat of late summer. We left Shonan International Village by bus. When we passed through the tunnel and the view of Zaimokuza Beach spread out, the visitors paid attention to the windsurfers on the sea. They admired the size of the Great Buddha and took a lot of photos of him in Kotokuin Temple. They marveled at the wooden Statue of Kannon which was said to have kept its beauty over one thousand years in Hasedera Temple. Yoimiya-sai, Evening Ceremony of Reitai-sai (Main Annual Rite), was being held in Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. We enjoyed listening to Matsuri hayashi (festival music played by traditional Japanese instruments), and the chorus at Maiden (a stage for dances). The visitors were delighted with them. Some visitors wanted to purchase some wares of Kamakurabori (local carved lacquerware from Kamakura) as a souvenir for their family because they were charmed by it during their previous visit to Japan. These fans of Kamakura were satisfied to find and buy the wares of Kamakurabori they wanted at a shop on the Wakamiya Oji Street. Parents with a baby also took part in this tour, and the baby wasn’t fussy. All the visitors were fine and relished the sightseeing in Kamakura. Most of the visitors would leave Japan on the following day and they were in a relaxed mood because the conference was over. They fully enjoyed the last day in Japan.
