ブックタイトル縁19号

概要

縁19号

together having fun and of course our dance steps were horrible but this cultural event encourages bondingbetween Japanese and ourselves. This is exactly what I am looking for whenever I travel abroad. The beautycultures of others and the chance to get up close and personal with the locals and getting myself immersedinto those cultures. I guess that is probably the best way to get to know and understand other's culturesand feel the bonding.On the first Saturday, with a few friends and a preplanned agenda, we went on a trip around Tokyo citycentre. We visited popular spots most people recommended. We went to visit the Imperial Palace, Ginza,Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine, Ueno, the famous Shibuya crossing and Asakusa. Tokyo is a big city and there are somany places to see. We ended our day in Asakusa where we spent most of our time because there was ahuge Asakusa Samba Festival. It is an annual event and this time around it was its 36 thand we were verylucky to see such an event. It was the closest samba event I had the chance to see beside the one in Brazil.There were so many people standing at the sides of the roads and I had to tip toe between them to catcha glimpse of the parades and performances. Music was loud, people were busy taking pictures and videos asmuch as they could get. It was really an amazing experience. When the parade was over, we went to see theAsakusa Sensoji Temple nearby.At first, I was a bit reluctant to join a trip program to Kamakura arranged by AOTS. I was looking forwardto the exciting part of the Tokyo city area. But I was glad I did. It was quite a long journey to Kamakurafrom Tokyo (I can't remember but probably around one-and-a-half-hours with multiple different train rides).Kamakura is south of Tokyo and famous with old shrines and Buddha temples. Taking a few trains to Kamakura,during the journey itself was a wonderful experience when I got to see the other side of Tokyo. Kamakurais more of a humble and quiet city compared to the busy metropolis of Tokyo. We traveled in a groupof around 50 to 60 people as we joined with other groups from different programs who stayed at TKC aswell. It was a mix of people from different countries and we had the chance to get to know each other duringthe trip. As I remembered it, it was a beautiful day and it was hot and humid in Kamakura throughoutthe day.When we reached there, we were greeted by wonderful guides who were kind enough to accompany usand explained about the history of Kamakura. These guides are Japanese who were born and raised in Kamakuraand they speak good English. As they took us around Kamakura to see the temples and shrines, theyAt one of the shrines in KamakuraIP Friends Connections August 2018 No.19ENISHI13