aWa life

June 2015# 299

Okuboji:
Temple #88
Interview with
Chimanaco
Part II

1

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Editors:
Jenifer Tanikawa & Till Dumke
Contributors This Month:
Kazue Inoue, Akiko Tsuji, David C. Moreton, Jenifer Tanikawa, Junko
Kimura, Shinobu Watari2

Contents
Pg. 2-4:

Okuboji - The 88th Temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage RoutePg. 4:

Letter from the Center for Early Childhood Education and Care		"SUKETO NAKAYOSHI"
Pg. 5-6:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 6-8:

Rain, Flower, and Music: Interview with Chimanaco (Part 2)

Pg. 9:

Beckoned By the Fireflies: An Evening of Serenity in Misato

Pg. 10-11: Events and Memoranda

Okuboji - The 88th Temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage Route
By David C. MoretonThose who commence
their pilgrimage at the first
temple, Ryozenji ( 霊 山 寺 )will most likely finish at theeighty-eighth temple, Okuboji(大 窪 寺). In that case one can
ask the staff in the temple office
for a certification of completion (kechigan shomeisho:
結願証明書 ) [2000 yen fee].
H o w e v e r, s o m e p e o p l e d o
not stop here, but go backto Ryozenji to complete thecircuit and/or visit Mt. Kōya
i n Wa k a y a m a t o r e p o r t t oKōbō Daishi that they havesuccessfully completed thejourney. In this article I will
present the history of Okuboji
and describe various things to
see on the temple grounds.
As with many other temples
along the Shikoku pilgrimage
route this one was alsoestablished by Gyogi Bosatsu
during the 8th century. Kōbō
Daishi came here during the

9th century and recited asutra called the Gumonji-ho( 求 聞 持 法 ) one million times
in a cave called Taizo Mine
( 胎 蔵 峰 ) near the summit of
Mt. Nyotai behind the temple.
He also carved a seated
90cm statue of Yakushi Nyorai( 薬 師 如 来 ) and constructeda building to enshrine it as
the main deity. In most cases
Yakushi Nyorai holds a medical
pot in one hand, but this one israre because it holds a trumpet
shell (horagai: ほ ら 貝 ), whichis said to expel all calamities
and sicknesses. This statue
is a hidden Buddhist image(hibutsu: 秘仏 ) and the doors of
the wooden box containing thestatue are opened only every
fifty years. However, recently
I was fortunate to be there fora special viewing event calledgokaicho ( ご 開 帳 ) and wasable to see the black Yakushi
Nyorai statue, which is in a roomin the treasure tower (tahoto:
多 宝 塔 ) behind the main hall.
[1000 yen fee] Usually one canonly see a small golden statue
in the main hall, which has beenplaced in front of the “real” deity.
This is called maebutsu (前 仏)or “Buddhist image in front.”
Also “hidden” is a staff given to3

Kōbō Daishi in China from Huiko(Keika) (746-805), the seventh
Patriarch of Esoteric Buddhism.
This, like the statue of Yakushi
Nyorai, is only on public display
during special viewing events.
Gradually the temple prospered
and grew and it is said that
there weremore than 100
buildings. But
then during
the 16th
century all of
the temple
buildings,
except for
one hall, wereburned downby the troopsof Chosokabe
M o t o c h i k a ( 長宗我部元親 ) .
Fortunately the statue ofYakushi Nyorai and the staff
were not destroyed. Later,
during the 17th century, thelord of Takamatsu, Matsudaira
Yorishige ( 松 平 頼 重 ) donatedland and the temple was rebuilt.
H o w e v e r, t h e t e m p l e w a s
again destroyed by fire in 1900
and sometime afterwards, thetemple buildings were rebuilt.
The Daishidō was reconstructed
in 1984. On one side of theDaishidō is a large statue of
Kōbō Daishi that was donatedin 1990 and on the other side
you can see a lot of staffs
enclosed in a glass structure.
Many people who finish theirpilgrimage here want to present
their staff to the temple, but the

Okuboji
temple staff would like you totake the staff home as a memoirof your trip or present it tosomeone. However, if you wantto leave it at the temple you
must pay 1000 yen. All of thecollected staffs are burned in afire ceremony held a couple oftimes a year. Inside the Daishidōon the main floor are numerous
color paintings depicting eventsin the life of Kōbō Daishi and in
the basement there is a “standon sand” (osunafumi: お砂踏み )eighty-eight pilgrimage route.
Small statues of the main deitiesof each temple are placed abouta foot apart and in front of thembeneath the floor is sand thathas been collected from alleighty-eight sacred sites. If you
wish to enter the Daishidō andsee this mini-pilgrimage etc.,
you must ask at the temple
office and pay the 500 yen fee.
Hours 9am~4:30pm.
Here is a tale related to Okuboji
from about two hundredyears ago. In the fall of 1817
there were two pilgrims fromthe southern part of Hyogo
prefecture, who had left home
to become Buddhist priests.
They were chanting Nembutsu
in front of the statue of the maindeity, Yakushi Nyorai, but one ofthem became totally paralyzed
and was unable to freely movehis arms andlegs. The
other onesaw this andsaid blaming
him, “Whathave youdone wrong?
Please behonest andconfess.”
The other
replied, “I
don`t remember doing anythingbad”, but added, “Wait a minute.
I have offered my fuda up to
this point, but I have received
this punishment because I havesinned.” Then when he checked
the contents of his bag, he foundthe chopsticks that belonged tothe other fellow. The one who
became paralyzed said, “All ofa sudden I just wanted to havethose chopsticks and I put themin my bag.” He repented and felt
embarrassed for his mistake.
After this when he expressed
his remorse to the main deitywith his travel companion his
body was freed from its frozen
state. From this temple hewent in reverse order while hiscompanion continued onward
with his pilgrimage. Not only the

4Okubojiresident priest, but also thosethat heard this story thought it
was very strange.
For those who are walking there
are a few routes (see link) fromthe Ohenro Koryu Salon (seeApril 2015 issue) to Okuboji, but
if you want to stay away fromtraffic I recommend taking thepath that goes up and over Mt.
Nyotai (774m). If it is a clear
day, the view from the summit isamazing, but the descent down
to the temple is all stairs andcan be hard on the knees.
Please come and visit Okuboji –the eighty-eighth temple along
the Shikoku pilgrimage route.
Link:
h t t p : / / w w w. g e o c i t i e s . j p /sanukimaeyamanet/ohenro/
henromiti/map/ketigan.html

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

By Kazue Inoue (Center for Early Childhood Education and Care SUKETO NAKAYOSHI)J

ust after children pass theone and a half year mark,many parents probably havesuffered the wrath of a very
upset child, crying and throwing
tantrums, when they don’t get
their way. This phenomenon isa normal part of development(dubbed by some as being
the first stage of the rebellious
phase) and this is whenchildren begin to assert their
independence and begin to
make sense of themselves as
an individual. They will naturally
grow out of this stage once they
begin to be able to express
themselves with words, foster
skills to predict events or skills
to understand various situations.
I would like to introduce a few
useful tips for how to deal
with children in this stage ofdevelopment.
Try and understand how they
are feeling…“You just wanted totry it out by yourself, right?”
Give them choices...“Which one
would you like?”
Give reasons...“It’s getting late,so let’s do it tomorrow.”

Give them concrete plans...“Wecan play after we eat.”
These are just a few examplesof things you can say to yourchild to try and convince them,but they may not always work. If
it doesn’t, don’t blame yourself
or think too hard about it, this isjust a stage in their life that they
all go through. And don’t forgetto give yourself some time too
to relax. Whether it is drinking
coffee, shopping, or whatever
your heart desires, it is also
important for mothers to find away to relieve their stress.
＊＊＊
This Month’s Craft
Playing with Socks: Mr. Penguin
Materials

Socks
Glove
Construction paper
Tape
Clothes pins
Directions
1. Flip a sock inside-out and rollthe sides down, leaving a bit unrolled at the tip.
2. Push the tip of the sockinwards to flip it inside-out. Put
on a glove and place the sockover your 3 fingers.
3. Roll up the other sock andstuff your gloves with it (where
the palms of your hand are).
4. Cut out eyes from construction paper and tape it on. Use
clothes pins for the beak and
feet.

5

Japanese Lesson

By Akiko TsujiThis month, we will learn how to use different expressions to describe other people’s actions that
directly affect you. The expression that we use changes depending on whether that action has apositive or a negative outcome for you (the speaker). Let’s take a look at the dialogue below.
いりぐち＜ホテルの入口で＞
Mr. A and Mr. B are on a business trip together and they will be staying at the same hotel. Mr. B arrives
first and is waiting for Mr. A.
つ

A: ああ、やっと着いた。 (Puts down a lot of luggage by his feet)おそB: あ、Ａさん、遅かったですね。
おそに もつすくA: ごめんなさい、遅くなって。あれ？Ｂさん、荷 物 少ないですね。
ひと

へ や

おお

B: ええ、わたしはチェックインをして、ホテルの人に部屋まで大きい
に もつ

も

い

荷物を①持って行ってもらいました。
に もつすくでも、Ａさんも荷 物 少ないですね。
A: え？

おお

わたしは多いでしょう？

あっ！

(Looks down at his feet and notices that his luggage is gone.)
B: どうしたんですか？
し

ひと

に もつ

も

い

A: 知らない人に②荷物を持って行かれました！ (Points to the stranger running off with Mr. A’s luggage)
In both ① and ② , both speakers are describing how someone carried their bag for them. However, thebig difference is how the action made the speaker feel.
もい①持って行ってもらいました（わたしは）～（the person who took the action）に

けいて形＋もらいました

This expression is used to indicate a positive action and to express the speaker’s feeling of appreciation.
もい②持って行かれました（わたしは）～（the person who took the action）にうけ み どう し

受身 動 詞

Passive Verbs

This expression is used to indicate a negative action and to express how the action caused the speaker problems.
うけ み どう しつくかたHow to make passive verbs

受 身 動 詞の作り方
Group Ⅰももい

持って行きます
よ

よ

→

読まれます

見ます

→

見られます

食べます

→

食べられます

します

→

読みます
み

Group ⅡたGroup Ⅲい

→ 持って行かれます

き

来ます

→

み
た

されます
こ

来られます

Exercise
Change the verb in the brackets【】to the appropriate form by choosing either expression ① or
expression ② from above. Write your answers in the brackets ( ).

6Japanese Lesson
よ【読みます】ははにっ き

１．ゆうべ母に日記を（
ちい

はは

）
。

えほん

２．小さいとき、母に絵本を（）
。

す【捨てます】
ははほん

３．母にいらない本を（
はは

たいせつ

）
。

ほん

４．母に大切な本を（

）
。

み

【見ます】
せんせい

５．先生にレポートを（
し けん

）
。
ひと

こた

６．試験のとき、となりの人に答えを（）
。

Reference：みんなの日本語初級Ⅱ文型練習帳
実践日本語指導見なおし本
４．捨てられました

５．見てもらいました

すみ

１．読まれましたよみ

２．読んでもらいましたよ６．見られました
３．捨ててもらいましたすAnswers

Rain, Flower, and Music: Interview with Chimanaco (Part 2)
By Jenifer Tanikawa

Interview continued from lastmonth's issue.
B: Bandou, S: Setsuco, K: Kyamada
How would you describe thisband?
S: Hm, I don’t quite know how

to word it, but a band thattreasures each word we sing.
We also like to associate ourmusic with rain.
K: A band that you want to listen
to on a rainy day.
S: Our slogan is “to become aband that you want to listen to
on a rainy day.”What does that mean?
S: Um…how should I say this?
Really gentle but…
K: Intense and up-beat?
S: Intense? Pretty? Pretty!
Flower! Rain. Flower being
pelted down by the rain.
What song best represents
Chimanaco?
S: I personally want everyone tolisten to “Tokeru” ( 溶ける melt).

K: But the song that’s promoted
heavily is “Namida no Brownie.”
But I wouldn’t say that song isrepresentative of us.
S: I don’t know how to say it but…
K: It’s not a type of song wenormally perform.
S: That’s the only song I didn’t
write. We first played it in highschool and I wrote the lyrics
and the melody but the song is
far from the image we want tomaintain now. But we performedthat song for the RO69 JACK
14/15, Hana Haru Band
Contest, and Music Revolution.
There’s a song called “Aonisai”
in the compilation album HAVE
FUN. That’s the first ever song
we wrote as Chimanaco.
Why did you choose the band

7

name Chimanaco?
S: When we were deciding on
a band name, we came up withlots of ideas, but we settled on
Chimanaco since it was easy tounderstand and there’s a phraseusing that word, “chimanaco ninaru” (to become chimanaco)
B: It’s referring to the phrase
and not the actual word whichmeans bloodshot eyes.
S: The chimanaco we use refers
to the phrase that means to lose
yourself in or to devote yourself
to. So for us, it meant, let’s
devote ourselves to this band it
give it our all.
So if you were to assign eachmember to an ingredientfound in Tokushima Ramen,
what would everyone be?
S: I’ll be the soup then.
BK: I knew you would say that.
B: You are the soup. It’s themost important part. If the soupchanges, everything changes.
S: I do like the soup. But I don’t
mind being the bamboo shoots.
K: I was gonna say bamboo
shoots for myself.
B: Me too.
S: I’m totally okaywith being thebamboo shoots.
B: From our pointof view, you are
our soup.
S: Thanks.
B: But Kyamada
is the bamboo
shoots right? I
was gonna say

Interview with Chimanacothat too.
K: But the meat on top is good
too. Not the egg though, people
don’t like the egg.
B: I think I’m the bamboo shoot.
K: So modest of you.
S: I want to be the bamboo
shoot too. Noodles! Bandou you
are the noodles.
K: Then I’ll be the bamboo andyou can be the noodles. Bean
sprouts, bean sprouts!
B: That’s not part of ramen.
K: But that really is an importantcomponent. The ramen reallychanges depending on whether
the bean sprout is in there ornot. There are spicy ones too.
B: Are bean sprouts usually partof ramen?
K: Well yeah for Tokushima
Ramen. Rice? What about whiterice?
S: That’s definitely dispensable.
Do you have a band you look
up to?
S: Yes I do. I would even say,that’s the only band I look up
to. At the very very beginning it

was a band called GINGNANG
BOYZ. That was the first bandthat I really thought was cool,and they weren’t the ones thatmade me want to join a band,
but I really liked their songs andit made me think that there aremany types of band, that was injunior high. When I was in myfirst year in high school, during
the summer I heard songs by
ART-SCHOOL, and I was blown
away, they were so awesome.
K: My mother really likes L'Arc〜 en 〜 Ciel so my image ofwhat a band is was them. So
that’s what I listened to when I
was young, and when I enteredhigh school, I really liked
X-Japan and hide, and that led
to more bands, like I listened
to the bands that they liked like
Kiss, AC/DC. They are who I
think of when I think of bands.
In terms of music, I really likePet Shop Boys, though they’reelectronic music not rock. I
really liked their sound, theirrhythm. I could really see thecolors, the landscape, and I
could get lost in
the music.
S: I know
exactly what
you mean, I
feel the same
way about myfavorite bands.
B: I didn’t really
buy CDs until I
started a band.
I would go toconcerts andInterview with Chimanaco
buy CDs there and eventually I
started going to more and moreconcerts. But unlike those two,
I never really had one band I
really listened to. But throughthe concerts, I got to know alocal band called NINGEN OK
and thought they were reallycool. But the concert that blew
me away was Crypt City. The
way the bass guitarist
performed was really cool.
I thought they were reallycool. Especially the way
they really got into the live
performance. I listened to
Vocaloid a lot too, especiallyduring my first year of highschool.
S: What about Hachi-san(music producer)?
B: Yes Hachi-san too.
Future aspirations for theband?
S: We don’t really havea goal for every year or
anything. But I don’t want tonot change.
B: We’ll release a CD then go
on tour.
S: Speaking of CD, “Ame,Satsuki” was a self-produced
CD, and we could only sell it
at our own concert or we went
to the stores ourselves to ask
them to line it on the shelves forus. But with this CD, a recordlabel in Tokyo is releasing it for
us across Japan and so we’re
expanding our reach.
What is the band to you?

What is music to you?
S: My life.
K: My dream.
B: Part of my life. Basically
90% of my life I devote to theband. I won’t work full time andI always choose part time jobs
with flexible schedules. If I don’t
have the band, I’ll be like air,absolutely nothing left.

8

K: Maybe you would’ve beenmarried by now.
S: I probably would’ve beenmarried and living a mundanelife.
B: I would’ve probably beena farmer. I really did aspire to
go to an agricultural university,
but I gave up because I suckat writing essays. By chance
I found work nearby asa full-time employee, but
after a year and a half, I
just couldn’t give up on theband, and I decided to quit
my job.
S: Despite our current
situation, I think the reason
why we can stay socomposed is because we’re
no longer just dreaming,
we’re actually realizing our
dream.
Message for the readers?
Please come and watch us
at our concerts!!

If you weren’t a musician
what would you have been?
K: I wanted to be a lot of things.
Voice actress, dancer, join aband, and well my job now, hair
dresser. I guess I just wanted to
be famous.
S: Realistically, when I was inhigh school I wanted to be an art
teacher, so I went to university,
but ended up dropping out. And
if I hadn’t gone down this route,
I would’ve just been a part-timer
forever.

Chimanaco released their firstever mini album, "whiteout," on
April 8th. Along with their CD
release, they will also be goingon tour across Japan, so if you
have the chance and if you areintersted, please come out totheir shows!
They will be performing inTokushima on Sunday, June
28th at club GRINDHOUSE.
For more information please see
Chimanaco's official website:
chimanaco.com/

9

Beckoned By the Fireflies: An Evening of Serenity in Misato

By Shinobu Watari

female fireflies over fromtheir hiding place between
the leaves of the trees.

L

ast year, hoping to catch aglimpse of the Genji Botaru( 源 氏 ボ タ ル ) fireflies, I visitedthe pristine mountain streams of
Yamakawa-cho, Yoshinogawa City.
From Awa-Yamakawa Station,
you can take a 20-minute ride
on a shuttle bus that takes you
right up to the Misato Firefly
Museum. The museum is built
right by the shallow and deep
waters of the Kawata River,which is where the fireflies

inhabit. The pure clean waterof the river is a perfect habitat
for the fireflies, and has been
looked a f t e r b y t h e l o c a l s .
The best time to see thefireflies is from late May to
mid-June. The fireflies will beout dancing across the waters
around 8 or 9 pm when thefollowing conditions align: no
moon, no wind and a hot humid
night. The male fireflies will bedancing about, beckoning the

There is something profoundly mysterious about
watching the fireflies dancearound in the night sky andthis phenomenon draws inmany vistors from insideand outside the prefecture.
On the day that I visited,
there were visitors from
Tokyo and even abroad,all of them completely
immersed in the fireflies andexclaiming with excitement.
The Genji Botaru fireflies areaquatic species that are only
found in Japan. A special
type of enzyme within theirbodies causes a chemical
reaction, thereby making themglow. The light produced by amale firefly is twice as brightas the light produced by afemale. In terms of size, thefemale fireflies are bigger.

Locations to See the Fireflies
Hahagawa River
Takazono, Kaiyo-cho, Kaifu-gun
Best time to visit: Early to mid June
The pristine streams of the
Hahagawa River is perfectfor the fireflies as genji botaru
fireflies can only live in areas
where the water is clean. There
will be boat cruises during thefirefly festival.

Masukawa River
Higashiyama, Higashi Miyoshicho, Miyoshi-gun
Best time to visit: Mid June

Yokawauchi (Sakamoto River)Oaza Mitani, Katsuura Town,
Katsuura-gun
Best time to visit: Early June

Thousands of fireflies will lightup the night sky around the
middle of June. There will be a
bazaar selling local specialties.

As a famous location for fireflies,
local residents have worked
hard to preserve this area. Many
food vendors will be out during
the festival and there is a shuttle
bus available as well.

Events & Memoranda

Welcome to the World of Translating
のぞいてみよう！翻訳の世界

日時：6 月 14 日（日）13:30 - 15:30
場所：内町公民館（徳島市 アミコ内シビックセンター５階）
参加費：無料こがばやし
さち
講師：古賀林 幸さん（翻訳家）
お問い合わせ、お申し込みは 6 月 5 日までに
津田塾大学同窓会徳島支部
幹事・山田（088-685-7546）まで

10

映画、小説、ノンフィクション、ニュース、政府高官のスピーチまで色々な翻訳のお話を伺います。その後、小説「赤毛のアン」の一節を取り上げ、何人かの訳を読み比べながら翻訳のおもしろさや苦労を、皆さんも実際に体験してみましょう。
興味のある方、男女年齢問わず大歓迎です。

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前期 6 月 20 日 （土）． 27 日 （土）． 7 月 4 日 （土）． 7 月 11 日 （土）． 25 日 （土） . 8 月 1 日 （土）後期 9 月から 10 月の間 6 回 （日程未定）●参加希望の方は、 氏名・住所・連絡先 （携帯番号やﾒｰﾙｱﾄﾞﾚｽ）・テキスト注文の有無を 6 月 11 日 （木）までに TIA 事務局へお知らせ下さい。 （定員になり次第締め切らせて頂きます）＊受講を修了した方は、 徳島市国際交流協会日本語教室やトピア日本語教室にボランティアとして参加することもできます。
【主催 ・ 問い合わせ】 徳島市国際交流協会 （TIA） TEL ： 088-622-6066

E-Mail ： info@tia81.com

Japanese Seminar for Parents
保護者のための日本語教室
Do you have problems reading the school
handouts? Is it hard communicating with teachersand other parents? Do you feel uneasy about
going to student-teacher conferences because ofyour limited Japanese skills?
Join the Japanese Seminar for Parents to learn
and improve your Japanese.
When：June 17（Wed） - December 9（Wed）
13：30 - 15：00（every Wednesday）
Where： Hyuman Wor k P ia Tokush i m a 4 F

Tokushima City, Showa-cho 3-35-1
Cost：Free（textbook：Free）
Info：Tokushima Prefecture Labor and Welfare
Council
URL: http://www.tokushima-rofuku.net/
Tel：088-625-8387（Kanematsu）※ For parents of young children, a childcare
worker will be on hand to lookafter your child during the lesson（free of charge）
Please inquire in advance.

11 Events & Memoranda
Tokushima City Stamp Rally and Yakisoba Lunch
とくしま市内スタンプラリーと焼きそばランチ

The Tokushima City International Association (TIA)
will hold a stamp rally in the downtown Tokushima
City to help familiarize participants with the area.
Participants will meet at TIA and recieve a map of
11 locations, 6 of which are certified as Tokushima
Citizen Heritage sites. After recieving information
about the location, and stamps from a volunteer
Tokushima guide at each point, a yakisoba lunch
will be served at the goal. TIA members andforeigners who participate, complete the course,
and arrive at the goal site by 11:30am will recieve
1 ticket for free entry to TIA's 2016 New Year's
Party.
Please apply by telephone or e-mail to the

TIA office. Only the first 30 applicants will be
accepted.
Date & Time: Sunday, July 5th, 2015 - Start from
TIA at 9:30 am, rally ends at 2:00 pm
Participation fee: 500 yen for TIA members andforeigners
1,000 yen for non-members, free for preschoolers
Route: TIA → Eagle Gate → Radio Tower → Shell
Mound → Centuries-old Pine Trees → Fukushima
Bridge Offering Site → Underpass shortcut →Nakasu Ichiba (Market) → Tomida Bridge →Mikawa House → Kencho Pier → Bandai Chuo
Warf & goal lunch
URL: http://www.tia81.com/

What is Tokushima Citizens Heritage[What is Tokushima Citizens Heritage?]Tokushima
City has several beautiful landscapes, such as
Mt. Bizan and the Yoshino River, and traditions
like Awa Odori and the Joruri Puppet Theater, buthave you ever thought there is something morethan well-known attractions that are pricelessyet overlooked? For the 120th anniversaryof Tokushima City, we asked our citizens to
introduce special places in our city, and 45 of thebest finds were selected as "Tokushima Citizens
Heritage" sites.
徳島市国際交流協会 /Tokushima City International
Association
Tel : 088-622-6066 E-mail: info@tia81.com

美郷ほたるまつり / The Misato Firefly Festival
吉野川市美郷地区は 1970 年に地区全域が「美郷のホタル及びその発生地」として国の天然記念物に指定されました。
美郷ほたるシャトルバス、美郷ほたるクリーン
アップ活動、ほたる観察会等、イベントが盛りだ
くさんです！
日時：5 月 30 日（土）- 6 月 14 日（日）場所：吉野川市美郷 川田川周辺
URL：http://www.misato-hotarukan.jp/

In 1970 the Misato district in Yoshinogawa City
has been designated as a proteced habitat for
fireflies. There will be numerous events during thetime when the fireflies are visible from late May toearly June.
When: May 30 (Sat) - June 14 (Sun)
Where: Kawata River, Yoshinogawa City
URL: http://www.misato-hotarukan.jp/

Counselling Service at TOPIA・トピアの相談窓口
TOPIA offers a counselling and advisory service to all foreign residents to help with issues involving
accidents, working conditions, housing, visas, international marriage, and more. Counselling isavailable in English and Japanese. Please note that although every effort will be made, we may not beable to deal with all cases.
Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Tel: 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)