International Trainees Enjoy Star Festival in Hiratsuka

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Date & Time: Sunday, July 7, 9:42 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Spots: The Event Site of Shonan Hiratsuka Star Festival, International Cultural Exchange Salon (IES) 
Visitors: 5 JICA(Japan International Cooperation Agency) Tokyo Trainees (3 from Indonesia, 1 each from Honduras and Malaysia)
Attendants: 2 KSGG members
Language: English

There was a light rain on the day. At Odakyu Yamato station, the JICA trainees were met right away, because there were not many passengers on the train. Although we were supposed to help them buy train tickets when they changed trains at Fujisawa station, they didn’t need our help as they had a prepaid IC card (PASMO). At the Shonan Hiratsuka Star Festival where there were colorful bamboo decoration, they strolled along the main street taking photos. The trainees were given 30 minutes to walk around before they had to come back to a parking lot to resume the guided tour. An Indonesian trainee spent too much time in shopping and came back 20 minutes late. However we KSGG members didn`t worry about him as a Malaysian trainee kept in touch with him by WhatsApp. At Mitsukedai public square, the trainees enjoyed a drum performance from Izu city and a Hula dance. Before proceeding on to the International cultural Exchange Salon (IES) we originally planned to have lunch at an Indonesian restaurant, but we skipped it as the visitors bought lots of foods at the food stands. At IES, they were excited to try Japanese calligraphy, Origami (paper folding), and Kendama (a cup and ball game). We left the Indonesian trainees at the Hiratsuka station as they wanted to return by themselves. We saw the other two visitors off at the station on an express train for Tokyo.