Date & Time : Sunday, May 27, 10:00a.m.- 3:30 p.m.
Spots : Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Hasedera Temple, and Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha)
Visitors : 61 Participants from eight countries (12 from Indonesia, 17 Philippines, 15 Vietnam, 4 India, 5 Mexico, 4 Thailand, 2 Myanmar, and 2 China)
Attendants : 31 KSGG members
Languages : English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese
I guided 6 male trainees from Indonesia who had come to Japan in April. On meeting them, I learned they were in the month of Ramadan. Then they enjoyed walking around Kamakura Station instead of having lunch. At Tusrugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, by chance we ran into a group of armored Samurai(warrior) and came across a wedding ceremony in traditional Shinto-style on Maiden(a stage for dancing and traditional ceremonies ). My guests enjoyed taking commemorative photos there. At Maruyama Inari Shrine, on seeing a pair of fox-statues, they said foxes were similar to characters of NARUTO, which they had read from their childhood. It made me realise Japanese Anime is getting more and more popular in the world. On Sando (approach to the shrine ), they tried goldfish scooping for the first time in their lives. At first it didn ’ t work well, but the shop owner’s demonstration enabled them to succeed in scooping up 5 goldfish one after another, leading the surrounding crowds to cheer them. After that at Hasedera Temple, they took pictures of hydrangeas beginning to bloom and the marvelous view of Sagami. At Kotokuin Temple, I quizzed them about the weight of Daibutsu ( Great Buddha ). To our surprise, their answer was correct!! Although they seemed to be so tired at the end of the tour due to fasting during the daytime, we enjoyed a pleasant excursion with English, Indonesian, and Japanese languages spoken among us.