By Leanne

Osaka brought us many long lasting memories.... we continued on the tour with the National Children’s Chorus and Osaka and its environs is the second of three legs of this tour!

We arrived to airport to a literal welcome wagon of more than 20 tour personnel ensuring our luggage will magically appear at hotel for us while we sojourn to a music school in Kyoto where we are welcomed by over 200 singing students!

NCC and Kyoto City Children’s Chorus traded songs in a delightful afternoon! And a cultural exchange where we made origami cranes. Immediately we feel at home in Japan!

The next day we journey on a day to Naru where we witnessed the Great Buddha of Naru - he’s a good 5 stories tall and we are amazed at the building that houses him. We learn that if we were not wealthy or powerful you would have to view him from afar threw doors that showed his head only. The walk to see him was uber-memorable as hundreds of deer as friendly as dogs approached us and surrounding tourists.

That afternoon we visited the first Shinto shrine and it was breathtaking. We learned the appropriate way to purify our hands before entering. We walked through a thousand orange gates that are placed for the Gods for a good harvest. We find place to purchase luck and wishes. And learned that normally Japanese will visit a shrine a few times a year. Shintoism is a religion native to Japan.

We also visit the beautiful bamboo forest and Miyiama island where the island shrine. Finally, we visit the epicenter of the Hiroshima bombing and Peace Memorial Park and museum where we hear from bombing victims.

The final day in Kyoto was devoted to the reknown Kyoto Festival which is one of the biggest and longest running festivals in Japan. Highly decorated floats are pulled down the street by dozens of men in traditional Japanese outfits.

The concert in Kyoto Concert Hall was icing on the cake .... the acoustics of the hall made the performance all the more riveting.