[Date & Time] Saturday, January 17 at 11:30 ~ 16:41
[Sports] Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu Shrine, Hasedera Temple, and Kotokuin Temple
(Great Buddha)
[Visitors] 37 JICA trainees from 20 countries, with 9 from Malaysia, 5 each from Laos and Costa Rica, 2 from Thailand, 1 each from China, Turkey, India, Iran, Nepal, Iraq, the Philippines, Chili, Brazil, Paraguay, Honduras, Albania, Egypt, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa
[Attendants] 22 KSGG Members and 3 Observers
[Language] English/Spanish
It was a JICA tour held on a cold, but a fine day in the New Year. During the train ride from Fujisawa to Kamakura, all of the trainees were delighted to see picturesque Mt. Fuji, and took pictures of it. The leader of the JICA trainees was an Egyptian student who had lived in Japan for 3 years studying at the graduate school of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. He played a role of facilitator for all the trainees attending the tour. Having learned that he would return home in March, a KSGG member said, “I’ll miss him, for he participated in the KSGG’s Kamakura tour 3 times, and I’ve got acquainted with him.”
This time, we had some trainees from Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea--the countries from which we have rarely had visitors. The KSGG tour organizer accompanied the trainees from Fiji and Samoa. Fiji, a republic located in the central South Pacific Ocean, which consists of over 300 small islands, became a British protectorate in 1874 and independent in 1970. It has a population of 810,000 and an area of 18,000 sq. kilometers, and its major industry is sugar cane production. On the other hand, Samoa is an independent country belonging to Commonwealth of Nations, located at the west end of the Polynesian region in the Pacific Ocean. It has a population of 170,000 and an area of 2,800 sq. kilometers. Samoa was the first country in the Pacific to become independent in 1962, and its major industries are agriculture--mainly producing coconut, taro, and banana, lumbering, fishing, and stockbreeding (beef for export). The KSGG organizer said later, smiling, “This year I would like to deepen exchanges with the people from the countries not familiar to us as well.”
Trainees in Wheelchairs also Enjoying Kamakura
Among 37 JICA trainees, 3 of them from Costa Rica were in wheelchairs. And the two of the wheelchairs were electric and one was manual, with spokes made of carbon fiber used for airplanes. The KSGG member who accompanied them said later, “It was not a hard work for me to push the wheelchair, but as was expected, I had to be careful not to bump into other people in the crowds.” Also, as he was a veteran guide in Kamakura, he said with a wry smile later, “As they did not speak English, I had to leave guiding them to a female KSGG member who spoke Spanish. Honestly speaking, it was a pity for me not to tell them anything about this ancient city in Spanish.”
Since visitors in wheelchairs are not able to go up to the main shrine at Hachimangu and Hasedera, Kamakura still leaves something to be desired for the disabled. However, the newly-built washrooms for them at Hachimangu and Hasedera and the quick action taken by Enoden’s staff in response to our request were highly regarded by KSGG attendants. At Hasedera Temple, as plum blossoms had begun to bloom, we could enjoy their sweet scent.
[Sports] Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu Shrine, Hasedera Temple, and Kotokuin Temple
(Great Buddha)
[Visitors] 37 JICA trainees from 20 countries, with 9 from Malaysia, 5 each from Laos and Costa Rica, 2 from Thailand, 1 each from China, Turkey, India, Iran, Nepal, Iraq, the Philippines, Chili, Brazil, Paraguay, Honduras, Albania, Egypt, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa
[Attendants] 22 KSGG Members and 3 Observers
[Language] English/Spanish
It was a JICA tour held on a cold, but a fine day in the New Year. During the train ride from Fujisawa to Kamakura, all of the trainees were delighted to see picturesque Mt. Fuji, and took pictures of it. The leader of the JICA trainees was an Egyptian student who had lived in Japan for 3 years studying at the graduate school of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. He played a role of facilitator for all the trainees attending the tour. Having learned that he would return home in March, a KSGG member said, “I’ll miss him, for he participated in the KSGG’s Kamakura tour 3 times, and I’ve got acquainted with him.”
This time, we had some trainees from Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea--the countries from which we have rarely had visitors. The KSGG tour organizer accompanied the trainees from Fiji and Samoa. Fiji, a republic located in the central South Pacific Ocean, which consists of over 300 small islands, became a British protectorate in 1874 and independent in 1970. It has a population of 810,000 and an area of 18,000 sq. kilometers, and its major industry is sugar cane production. On the other hand, Samoa is an independent country belonging to Commonwealth of Nations, located at the west end of the Polynesian region in the Pacific Ocean. It has a population of 170,000 and an area of 2,800 sq. kilometers. Samoa was the first country in the Pacific to become independent in 1962, and its major industries are agriculture--mainly producing coconut, taro, and banana, lumbering, fishing, and stockbreeding (beef for export). The KSGG organizer said later, smiling, “This year I would like to deepen exchanges with the people from the countries not familiar to us as well.”
Trainees in Wheelchairs also Enjoying Kamakura
Among 37 JICA trainees, 3 of them from Costa Rica were in wheelchairs. And the two of the wheelchairs were electric and one was manual, with spokes made of carbon fiber used for airplanes. The KSGG member who accompanied them said later, “It was not a hard work for me to push the wheelchair, but as was expected, I had to be careful not to bump into other people in the crowds.” Also, as he was a veteran guide in Kamakura, he said with a wry smile later, “As they did not speak English, I had to leave guiding them to a female KSGG member who spoke Spanish. Honestly speaking, it was a pity for me not to tell them anything about this ancient city in Spanish.”
Since visitors in wheelchairs are not able to go up to the main shrine at Hachimangu and Hasedera, Kamakura still leaves something to be desired for the disabled. However, the newly-built washrooms for them at Hachimangu and Hasedera and the quick action taken by Enoden’s staff in response to our request were highly regarded by KSGG attendants. At Hasedera Temple, as plum blossoms had begun to bloom, we could enjoy their sweet scent.