[Date & Time] Wednesday, August 31, 10:30—17:30
[Spots] Hokokuji Temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Hasedera Temple, and Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha)
[Visitors] 6 Vietnamese
[Attendant] 1 KSGG member
[Language] English
The group consisted of a young couple of Mr. A and his wife and their three-year-old daughter, Mr. A’s mother, and wife’s parents. After introducing ourselves, we took a bus to Hokokuji Temple. Mr. A once joined the Kamakura guided tour by KSGG as a JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) participant, which was a great experience for him. So he applied for this private tour of Kamakura. Prior to his visit to Japan he wrote me that he looked forward to tasting matcha, tea made of powdered green leaves, at Hokokuji Temple, but he was so much impressed with the beautiful bamboo grove, he took lots of photos enthusiastically. At Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, I explained the difference between Buddhism and Shintoism. When I said to them, “You are purified every time you go through Torii Gate”, they fully understood what I meant, and went through the gate repeatedly. At Hasedera Temple, they deeply understood the meaning of the Eleven Faced Kannon through my explanation, and said “There is the Thousand Armed Kannon in Vietnam and its concept is almost the same as the Eleven Faced Kannon in Japan. At Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha), they offered up earnest prayers, which moved me so much. After that, though we had planned to go to Enoshima Island, we decided not to go there because the visitors were very tired. The three-year-old girl of the group was really cute. She impressed me the most in the tour.
