Hiraizumi Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Hitoshi

What Is a Private Guided Tour of Hiraizumi Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Chusonji, Motsuji, and Local History

The guests were a young group from North America, visiting Japan for the first time. They had trained their legs before coming to Japan, so although I offered to use a bus partway through, they showed no signs of fatigue and completed the tour successfully. They had a deep interest in plants and asked about the names of flowers and trees along the roadside. One of the guests was also interested in architecture and showed curiosity about styles such as the pyramidal roof (hogyo-zukuri). At Takadachi and Hangan-kan, they showed interest in the haiku of Basho and the life of Yoshitsune, the tragic hero. They went up into the main hall of Chusonji Temple, attentively viewing the principal image and taking photographs. Having studied topics such as Shinto before their trip, they spent time at Hakusan Shrine passing through the chinowa ring, offering prayers at the shrine, and praying at the shrine dedicated to the guardian deity of their own zodiac sign among the twelve zodiac guardian deities. They entered the main hall of Motsuji Temple (a special viewing was being held in October) and looked with great interest at photographs of the Yakushi Nyorai and the Ennen no Mai dance displayed inside the hall. They also showed interest in the size of the foundation stones at the site of the Nandaimon Gate and the many foundation stones at the site of Enryuji Temple. They were fascinated by the yarimizu water channel and the annual Gokusui no En banquet, as well as the hidden Buddhist deity Matarajin of the Jogyodo hall. During the tour, we had a lively conversation about Shohei Ohtani, who is from Iwate Prefecture, and I truly realized how popular he is in North America.

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Tour Report by Hitoshi

My name is Hitoshi Ohata. I’ve been an interpreter and guide for about six years since I retired. I live in Takizawa City which is at the foot of Mt. Iwate, the highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture. My hobby is playing table tennis once a week. I’m not a competitive player, I’m just having fun. I also play go, a board game. The main guides are a guide to Hiraizumi’s cultural heritage and a guide to cruise ship tours in Aomori and Iwate Prefecture. I’ve experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake, so I can talk about things like that. I try to convey Japanese culture and society to people overseas in an easy-to-understand way as much as possible.