大興奮の東京観光!!快晴の青空のもと研修員たちも笑顔満点!!! Exciting sightseeing in Tokyo! The participants were all smiles under the clear blue sky!

JICA東京センターでは、研修員の福利厚生プログラムの一環として都内のボランティア団体様と協力し、都内の観光名所を巡るバスツアーを敢行しています。今回も多くの参加希望者がいましたが、抽選で選ばれた10名は、遅刻者もなく楽しみだったご様子！

時刻は9時15分、フロントにはこの日を待ちわびた研修員たちが、ご機嫌で登場！
最初の目的地は、皇居外苑。10月の景色は、深緑のなかにうっすらと黄色い葉が顔を出し、皇居の壮麗な佇まいを際立てています。快晴の青空と落ち着いた緑は、研修員たちを癒してくれるようで、みなさん写真を撮ったり深呼吸をしたり、とってもリラックスしていました。都内の地図をもったガイドさんの説明も、真剣に聞いています！が、ここで一つの質問が。「Where is Tokyo Disney Resort?」残念ながら、ディズニーリゾートは東京ではありません！

つづいて向かったのは、観光名所の浅草・浅草寺です。立派な風格の浅草寺に研修員たちも圧倒されていました。着物を着た方と写真を撮ったり、初めて見る人力車にも大興奮！煙を浴びて体の悪いところを取りはらう常香炉にお線香をあげましたが、お線香は細くて柔らかいので折れやすく、みなさん折らないようにとても気を付けて優しく持っていました。
信仰している宗教によって楽しみ方も違うようで、イスラム教徒の研修員は、写真は撮らず、一つ一つのつくりや景色をじっくりと観察しており、宗教の違いを尊重することの大切さも学ぶことができました。打って変わって、上を見上げている研修員が。見上げていたのはまじかに構える東京スカイツリー！背中が反るくらい真上を見て、その高さに圧倒されていました。

帰りのバスでは、日本に関するクイズ大会を開催！忍者はまだ日本にいるのか、日本の天皇に女性はなれるのかなど、難しい問題もありました。ですが、ガイドさんのお話をしっかり聞いていたようで、みなさんとても高い正答率！（正直、日本人でも難しい問題もありました、、、？みなさんすごい！）レインボーブリッジや豊洲、東京タワーを通って、日本の大都会に盛り上がりも最高潮!!と、思いきや、バスの最前列に座りたいという研修員が。どうしたのかと思えば、高速道路から覗く東京の絶景にカメラを回さずにはいられなかったようです。約3時間半の東京観光もあっという間に終わり、JICA東京センターに無事到着。バスを降りる際には、みなさん大きな声で「アリガトウゴザイマス！」と、上手な日本語で挨拶していました。研修員たちが名残惜しそうに宿泊棟に帰っていく姿を見て、もっと日本の魅力を知ってもらいたいと感じました。

（JICA東京インターン　井上里虹　茂木美織）

JICA Tokyo Center, in cooperation with a volunteer group in Tokyo, has been organizing a bus tour of sightseeing spots in Tokyo as part of participants’ welfare program. There were many people who wanted to join the tour this time　and 10 participants selected by lottery seemed to be looking forward to the tour and no one was late.

At 9:15 a.m., the participants cheerly appeared at the front desk, as they had been eagerly awaiting the day! The first stop was the Imperial Palace Garden, where in October, yellow leaves peeked out from the deep green, accentuating the magnificent appearance of the Imperial Palace. The clear blue sky and calm greenery seemed to soothe the participants, who were taking pictures, breathing deeply, and relaxing. They were listening intently to the guide's explanation with a map of the city! But here is a question. “Where is Tokyo Disney Resort?” Unfortunately, it is not in Tokyo!

The next stop was Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, a famous sightseeing spot. The participants were overwhelmed by the stately Senso-ji temple. They took pictures with people wearing kimono and were excited to see a ricksha for the first time! We placed incense sticks in the incense burner to remove the bad parts of the body through the smoke. Incense sticks are thin and soft, so they break easily, and everyone was very careful to hold them gently so as not to break them.
The participants seemed to be very attentive to the delicacy of the incense sticks at the incense burner, where they were exposed to smoke to heal the bad parts of their bodies.

It seems that different religions have different ways and the Muslim participants did not take pictures but carefully observed each structure and scenery, and we learned the importance of respecting religious differences. On the other hand, one of the participants was looking up and what he was looking was the Tokyo Sky Tree! He was overpowered by its height, looking straight up as his back was arched.　　

On the bus ride back, a quiz game about Japan was held! Some of the questions were difficult, such as whether ninja still exist in Japan and whether a woman can be the emperor of Japan. However, everyone seemed to have listened carefully to the guide and answered the questions correctly! (To be honest, some of the questions were difficult even for Japanese...) The excitement was at its peak as we passed the Rainbow Bridge, Toyosu, and Tokyo Tower, all of which are major sights of Japanese metropolises! And then, there was a participant who wanted to sit in the front of the bus. What happened to him, it seems, was that he couldn't help rolling his camera at the spectacular view of Tokyo peeking out from the highway. The three-and-a-half-hour tour of Tokyo was over in no time, and we arrived safely at the JICA Tokyo Center. Upon exiting the bus, everyone greeted with a loud "Arigato gozaimasu!” in their good Japanese. Seeing the participants returning to the accommodation building with regret, I felt that I wanted them to know more about the charms of Japan.

(Rio Inoue, Miori Moteki, Intern, JICA Tokyo,)