Hiraizumi Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Toshi

What Is a Private Tour of Hiraizumi Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Geibikei Gorge, Takkoku-no-Iwaya, and Chuson-ji

All three guests share a strong interest in Buddhism, and they are all big fans of MLB player Shohei Ohtani. I am also a big fan of Shohei Ohtani, and when I mentioned that Ohtani's birthplace is only about a ten-minute drive from my home, the guests were surprised. This time, at the guests' request, we experienced the boat ride down Geibikei Gorge. The boat ride operates year-round, but in winter a kotatsu is set up inside the boat for warmth. A removable transparent roof is also installed, so during the roughly one-hour boat ride we did not feel much cold. The boat ride through the gorge is a truly spectacular sight. The towering rock walls on both sides create the illusion that they are leaning toward you. The boatman had a great sense of humor, and the guests were delighted. The boatman's rendition of the "Oiwake" song had an emotional quality that resonated with the heart regardless of language. Of the roughly twenty passengers on board, more than half were travelers from overseas. What was unfortunate was that there was no snow at all in the gorge. Leaving Geibikei behind, our next destination was Takkoku-no-Iwaya.

The first thing that surprises visitors at the Takkoku-no-Iwaya Bishamon-do is that a sheer cliff (a cave) serves as the back wall of the hall, with the upper part of the cliff jutting out and used almost like part of the roof. It is quite powerful. The Buddha image carved into the cliff on the left side of the Bishamon-do also arouses interest. That day was cloudy, so it seemed difficult to make out the face of the cliff-carved Buddha. However, it was the guests who first spotted a small hornet's nest a little above the carved Buddha. After a while, the guests were also able to see the face of the carved Buddha. Among the guests was someone whose legs were not in the best condition, yet they climbed up and down the rather steep stairs to pray to the principal image inside the hall — truly reflecting their devotion to Buddhism. Takkoku-no-Iwaya Bishamon-do is a temple known for offering the most powerful protective charm, but unfortunately that day the "most powerful charm" was sold out and we could not obtain one. At Takkoku-no-Iwaya, the guests asked me, "Why does a temple have three torii gates?" At that moment the word "syncretism" from "the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism" did not come to me, so I explained, "In the Edo period there was something called the fusion of Shinto and Buddhism, where the two were on good terms, and it was common to have torii gates and Buddhist statues within the same grounds," and they kindly accepted my explanation. I also added that at Chuson-ji there is a shrine called Hakusan Shrine right next to the Konjikido. At Takkoku-no-Iwaya we ended up spending nearly twice as much time as planned.

The next destination after Takkoku-no-Iwaya was supposed to be Motsu-ji, but since it was lunchtime, after consulting with the guests, we changed it to Michi-no-Eki Hiraizumi. The guests chose the pork cutlet and fried shrimp set meal. I had the same. The guests treated me to lunch. While eating, there was a question about the difference between "tempura" and "fried shrimp (ebi fry)." The guests said both are "deep fried" and asked if they were the same, but I could only explain that the "batter" is different. I could not explain that "ebi fry developed from Western-style cuisine, while shrimp tempura is part of Japanese cuisine." I also regretted not being able to say that "shrimp tempura uses flour dissolved in water, while ebi fry uses flour, egg, and breadcrumbs." There was also a conversation about the "New Year's Eve bell." It concerns the 108 earthly desires, and I explained that "shiku-hakku" (the four sufferings and eight sufferings) works out to 4×9=36 and 8×9=72, which added together makes 108. After this, I explained Muryoko-in and the Yanagi-no-Gosho site while in the car, and we headed to Motsu-ji. At Motsu-ji we prayed at the main hall, but since we were running short on time, we skipped the circuit of the garden. I explained the neighboring Kanjizaio-in while in the car, and we headed to Chuson-ji. Since one of the guests had trouble with their legs, we took a taxi and got off at the Chuson-ji Saka-no-ue parking lot. From here we walked up a short slope and arrived at the Sankozo in about five minutes. Right inside the Sankozo there are three Joroku Buddha statues, and the guests were amazed at their size. All three are seated statues, standing about 2.4 meters tall. If they were to stand up, they would be about 5 meters tall. In addition to the Joroku Buddhas, the guests viewed the seated Dainichi Nyorai and the standing Thousand-Armed Kannon with great interest. After the Sankozo comes the Konjikido. The Konjikido at Chuson-ji is the highlight of the tour. At the Konjikido, an explanation lasting several minutes is broadcast inside the hall over the public address system. Because it was New Year's Eve, entry to the Konjikido was allowed only until 15:00. Since there were far fewer Japanese tourists than usual, I asked if they could switch to the English audio, and they kindly switched the broadcast to English right away. The guests were delighted by this. After the Konjikido we prayed at the Chuson-ji main hall, but perhaps because of preparations for the New Year's visit, the entire hall was filled with a busy atmosphere. On our way quickly to the entrance of Tsukimi-zaka, the guests seemed to be taking in the entire view of Hiraizumi from the Higashi-monomi lookout. Just as we reached the entrance of Tsukimi-zaka, our taxi was already waiting for us. Thanks to that, we were able to board the taxi right away, which was a great help. Since we had gone considerably over time, we skipped the rest house we had planned to visit and left Chuson-ji, heading toward the hotel in Ichinoseki. The guests said they would come to Chuson-ji again the next day for their New Year's visit, and that they would like to take a taxi to the Hiraizumi rest house at that time. I was glad that even the guest who had concerns about their legs was able to return safely to the hotel.

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Tour Report by Toshi

Hello and welcome! If you’re an inbound guest, I’d like to extend a warm greeting to you. I hope you have a pleasant stay in our beautiful city. If there’s anything you need, feel free to ask – I’m here to assist! My name’s Toshiya Ozawa. Please call me Toshi. I have 25 years’ experience as National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter guiding in English. Presently, I live in Ohsyu-shi, Iwate-ken where the Major Baseball player Shohei Ohtani was born and bred. The followings are the places where I attended as a tour guide for your reference. [Guide experience] Nara’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. Japan’s largest lake Lake biwa and Azuchi-jyo Ruins in Shiga prefecture. Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara:Horyu-ji, Nara Park, Todaiji Temple. Former Site of the Imperial Palace at Heijokyo, Todaiji Temple, along with Kasugataisha Shrine and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest. Koyasan (Shukubo Rengejo-in) shukubo literally means sleeping with the monks. Yagyu-no-sato (or the swordsman village of Yagyu), known as the home of Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu (traditional style of swordsmanship), is located in Northeast of Nara-city with rich natural environment. In Kyoto: JR Kyoto Station, The Golden Pavilion, World Heritage Site Former Imperial Villa Nijo-jo Castle, Ryoan-ji Temple, Nanzen-ji Temple. In Mie Prefecture: Ise Shrine, Wadakin (Japan’s one of the best wagyu-beef restaurant, Matsusaka-shi). In Shiga prefecture: Mother Lake Lake Biwa, Azuchi Castle ruins.
In Tokyo: Meiji shrine, Odaiba, Imperial Palace, Takeshita Street in Harajyuku, Akihabara (the otaku mecca and has its own unique atmosphere), Asakusa Kannon (Bodhisattva of Mercy) Sensoji Temple, and Tokyo Tower.
In Shizuoka Prefecture: Mt. Fuji.
In Aichi prefecture: 1. Atsuta Shrine 2. Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology 3. Inuyama Castle (Inuyama-shi) 4. Ohsu Shopping District 5. Konomiya Naked Festival (Inazawa-shi) 6.Tagata Jinja Shrine’s Honen Festival 7. Toyota Automobile Museum (Nagakute-shi) 8. Thousand Rice Paddies of Yotsuya (Yotsuya Senmaida) (Shinshiro-shi) 9. Asuke/Korankei (Toyota-shi Asuke-cho) 10. Chubu Centrair International Airport 11. Rest Stop (Highway Oasis Kariya, Donguri-no-sato Inabu)

10 years’ experience in a trading operations position and 7 years’ experience as an Exporting Manager and 5 years’ experience as a Domestic Sales Representative: All of the experiences above included contacts with respective customers both externally and internally.
I spent more than 2 years in the United States and Canada. Attended Kibbutz Hebrew class for six months in Israel.

Aug1991– present MASPRO DENKOH Corporation, Aichi prefecture in Japan.
Sales presentative/Exporting Manager “Export of TV reception and related equipment to Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand”
Negotiated prices and specifications with the makers “Drafting and arranging the needed documentations requested by custom houses”
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) supply of CS antennas to SONY Corporation
OEM supply of U.S. DirecTV Satellite Dish Antenna Dual LNB to Sony Corporation
Attended the customers from overseas when they came to the head office
Interpreter, translator to the C.E.O. (engaged in direct report to the company president)
Import of invaluable western style paintings, Japanese potteries and porcelains
Export of receiver and transmitter for Qualcomm Omni TRACS Ku-band satellite fleet tracking system in the U.S.
Export of CATV Tap-off for Time Warner Cable in the U.S. OEM supply of ETC In-Vehicle Unit in Singapore to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Apr. 1989–March 1991, employed by ESPO Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. Manager of secretarial section to the C.E.O
Interpreter, translator to the C.E.O “Assisted M&A transactions”
Formula 1 ESPO-LARROUSSE Team negotiation and interpreter. Was in charge of training new staff (26 university graduates )
Supervised new graduate recruitment activities as a part of training new staff and successfully recruited 40 prospective employees
Apr 1976 – March 1991 Nissait English School in Tokyo, Japan
1989 Director of Nissait English School “Management of English schools in Tokyo and Saitama prefecture”
Instructor: Taught English conversation more than 1000 students “Was in charge of training new instructors (12 vocational college graduates )”
Supervised new student recruitment activities as a part of training new instructors and successfully recruited 420 students at ten different schools for 5 years
Was in charge of International Exchange program
Chaperoned and supervised 160 Japanese youth delegates for cultural immersion homestays in the U.S.A. and Canada.
Education: In 1976, Completed the curriculum at a university, received a degree of B.A. in Economics, Aoyama Gakuin University, in Tokyo.

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Certified as a National Licensed English-Speaking Tour Guide in 2009 (License No. Aichi EN00307)
Passed Grade 1 of the EIKEN Test in Practical English Proficiency in 1989.