Social Program

Welcome Reception
Historical Party
Banquet
Free Lunch

Excursion
Accompanying Persons Program

 

Welcome Reception

October 5, 2008  18:00- (5F Willard)

 

Historical Party

October 6, 2008  19:30- (4F Le Grand)

 

Program for Accompanying Persons to Kamakura

October 6, 2008  13:00-
  • Time required: 5 hours
  • Meal: Not included
  • Itinerary:
    13:00  Leave Hotel
    (Inter Continental TOKYO BAY)
    • Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine
    • The Great Buddha
    18:00  Arrive at Hotel
    (Inter Continental TOKYO BAY)

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine: Founded at its present location by Yoritomo Minamoto in 1180, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu remains one of the most popular shrines in the Kanto region. Yoritomo had relocated the shrine from Tsurugaoka near the Yuigahama coast to make it the core of Kamakura. He ordered built the Wakamiya Oji approach from the shore to the shrine as a prayer for an easy delivery by his wife. The shrine burned down in 1191. Yoritomo rebuilt it on a graded hillside and dedicated it to the Minamoto tutelary deity. It was then that the shrine acquired its present arrangement of upper buildings and lower buildings. The present buildings date from 1828. The main hall at the top of the stairs affords a magnificent view of Kamakura along Wakamiya Oji street.

Great Buddha: The Great Buddha, designated as National Treasure, is Japan’s largest Buddhist image after Todai-ji’s in Nara. The present Great Buddha is the second at the site. The original image, carved from wood in 1243, was destroyed by a storm five years later. The present sculpture was cast in bronze around 1252. This was a remarkable feat, for the image is of colossal dimensions, with a weight of 125 metric tons and a height of 11.47 meters. The Great Buddha was once housed, but a tidal wave swept away the temple in 1498. Ever since the image has been exposed to the elements. The Great Buddha is Kamakura’s greatest attraction. Many consider it more beautiful than the image in Todai-ji.

 

Excursion to Hamarikyu Garden and Asakusa

October 7, 2008  13:00-

  • Time required: 4.5hours
  • Meal: Lunch included
  • Itinerary:
    13:00  Leave Hotel (Inter Continental TOKYO BAY)
    • Hamarikyu Garden (take a ferry to Asakusa)
    • Sensoji Temple & Asakusa
    • Nakamise Shopping Arcade
    • Ginza
    17:30  Arrive at Hotel (Inter Continental TOKYO BAY)

Sensoji Temple: Sensoji Temple is the oldest and most impressive temple in Tokyo. The main hall was first built in 645 to house a tiny golden statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, that had been repeatedly hauled up in fishing nets despite being thrown back into the river. The statue was enshrined in the main hall where it ostensibly remains today -- a sight too holy to be seen. The temple was destroyed in the air raids of March 10, 1945, and the present building is a 1958 reconstruction. The temple precincts bustle with people praying, buying fortunes, shopping or sightseeing. Many come for the curative powers of smoke billowing from the bronze urn burning incense in front of the main hall. People rub smoke on joints in the hope of easing aches and pains.

Asakusa Nakamise Shopping Arcade: Nakamise, a 250-meter approach to Sensoji Temple, is one of the oldest shopping streets in Japan. The arcade dates from the late 17th century, when local people were granted the special right to open shops along the approach to the temple. Their shops sold toys, sweets, snacks, and souvenirs. The shopping street was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and also in the air raids of 1945. Today‘s shops sell traditional knick-knacks, rice crackers, and festival foods. The street bustles and in color and motion suggests Old Edo.

Hamarikyu Garden：The only surviving seaside garden of Japan's Edo Period, Hamarikyu Garden was constructed as a residence for a Japanese feudal lord in the 17th century and later was an official duck hunting grounds for the Tokugawa Shogunate before passing into the hands of the Imperial family during the Meiji Period. Ponds in the garden are fed by seawater and scenery will delicately change with the ebb and flow of the tide. Two duck hunting fields remain and the 300-year-old pine tree by the garden's entrance is the largest such tree in Tokyo. The garden is rich in flowers and sports a tea house on a small island within a pond.

 

Banquet

October 8, 2008  19:30- (5F Willard)

 

Free Lunch

October 9, 2008  12:00- (1F The Blue Veranda / 3F Asian Table / 3F Dining Bar C4U)


Besides the official congress excursion, guided package tours are available for local sightseeing in major cities.
For details and reservation, please refer to: http://www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour/

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