[Date and Time] Friday, September 16, at 13:30~17:30
[Spots] Kotokuin Temple, Hasedera Temple, and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine
[Visitors] 23 Researchers of information science, with 13 from the U.S., 8 from Great Britain, and 2 from Japan
[Attendants] 2 KSGG members
[Language] English
The bus left Shonan Village on time. The beautiful smiles of visitors welcomed us, which brought lighthearted mood to us. We made explanations about KSGG and introduced the day’s schedule, and then we talked about Hayama Town, Mt. Fuji, Kamakura, and a Japanese-style poem written by Yosano Akiko about the Great Buddha.
The main attraction of this tour was the seasonal festival of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, “Suzumushi Hojosai Festival,” in which bell-ringing crickets were released. As a picture is worth a thousand words, the traditional Japanese ceremony showed the essence of Japanese culture better than any explanation. The guests gazed at the ceremony without moving while it was getting dark. I thought this festival made their memories of Japan unforgettable. At Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, we were relieved to find one of the guests who had got lost. Surprisingly, he was buying a hat at a shop near Hasedera Temple. The checked hat was very charming and went well with him. This became a very impressive memory of my first guiding.
