Last month, I joined about 40 JET Program participants (mostly English language teachers) in the Nara JETNet spring event – Adventure at the Old Fujiwara Capital, down near Yagi and Kashihara cities. After breaking into teams and doing some ice breaker games with our groups, we were ready to set out on our trek. We departed from the meeting area near Yagi Nishi-guchi station, and walked over to the old styled village of Imai-cho. It was quite refreshing to take in the old Japanese architecture and small town feel that is so rare in Japan these days. Just from the look of the buildings and the lack of vehicles, the area made me feel like I went several decades into the past!

We stopped at a shrine to get a picture before we moved out of the area and headed for the Kashihara palace site. We had to take a bit of a detour on our way, but we all eventually made it to the palace site, and found a cool, shady spot to have lunch. By this time, it was already past noon, and we were all ready for food and a rest.

After we finished eating, we continued walking around and took at restroom break near Unebigoryoumae station while we made our way to Kashihara Shrine. After what seemed like no time, we arrived at the shrine; it was nearly 3pm by this point, so we took a well deserved break on the stairs of the main hall. After that, we all walked down to Kashihara-jingu-mae station, and finished our hike around 4pm. It was quite a journey, and everyone was happy and exhausted by the end!

４月１８日、奈良JET青年連絡協議会の「外国青年と藤原宮跡を歩こう」というイベントに参加しました。八木西口駅から橿原神宮前駅まで歩いて、喋りながら、いろいろおもしろいところや景色を見ました。古い町並みの今井町や、橿原宮跡、橿原神宮などを廻って、とても楽しいウォーキングツーアでした。