GUNMA EVENTS December, 2012

The 21st Ota International Party There will be food served buffet-style, dance performances and a drawing at the Ota International Party. Date: Sunday, December 2 18:30 ~ Location: Marriyell Ota 1st floor , 601 Nishi-yajima cho Map Advance tickets ¥2,000 Walk-in tickets ¥2,500 Kids under 12 years old ¥500 Contact: 0276-48-1001

The 22nd International Exchange Party Date: Sunday, December 9 13:30~16:00 Location: Maebashi Plaza Genki 21, Nigiwai Hiroba,1st floor 2-12-1 Motomachi, Maebashi-shi Map Tickets：1,000 yen for adults 500 yen for children If purchasing tickets in advance, please contact the Maebashi International Exchange Association at below contact information. 1-5-2 Motomachi, Maebashi Maebashi municipal employee training center 1st floor TEL/FAX 027-243-7788

Lake Haruna Illumination Festa It’s a winter wonderland in Haruna! There will be annual laser shows and fireworks accompanied with beautiful illumination displays. During the laser show, you can request your messages to be written by the laser in the dark night sky with an additional fee. There will be bus tours available during this event! Date: Friday, December 7 ~ Wednesday, December 26 17:00～22:00 Location: Lake Haruna Visitor Center（-shi, Harunako-machi ） MAP Contact: 027-374-5111

Watarase Railway Station Illumination Every station of the Watarase Railway will display illumination! There will be special trains running during this season to show their customers all the stations’ illumination displays. On December 1st, there will be a fun event at the Godo station which includes comedy shows and a handbell performance. Date: Saturday, December 1 ~ Thursday, February 28 Location: Train stations of the Watarase Railway 17 stations Contact: 0277-73-2110 Check here for more Gunma's illumination spots 2012

Let’s go to onsen! Gunma’s winter can be very cold, but there are many hot springs here! Warming up your body is not only the benefit of onsen, but it also has therapeutic benefits. Each onsen has unique quality that treats different physical symptoms. For example, fatigues, tension in muscle or skin problems are believed to be cured in certain hot springs. We hope you find an onsen that’s perfect for you. Please see the URLs below for famous onsen spots in Gunma. Kusatsu、Ikaho、Manza、Shima Yabuzuka

Kusatsu International Ski Resort Christmas Event! Visitors can meet the Santa Clause at the Tengu-yama ski slope. They will be distributing free gifts at 10:00 am as well!

Date: Monday, December 24 Location: Kusatsu International Ski Resort MAP to Kusatsu Contact: 0279-88-8111

Let’s go to Hatsumode/ the first visit to a shinto shrine! Hatsumode is the first shrine visit of the New Year in . Many Japanese people visit a shrine or temple on the first day of the year. At the shrine, visitors thank god for the previous year’s success and pray for the New Year. Traditionally, both men and women are dressed in Kimono during hatsumode, but many people tend to just wear something casual lately. Common customs during hatsumode are to buy written oracles called omikuji which predicts your luck for the New Year and pray for the new year’s success by throwing some coins into the saisen box.

The 57th New Year in Gunma (All Japan Corporate road relay race) The New Year Ekiden was first held in Gunma in 1988 and the next year marks the 26th anniversary. A total of 37 fastest corporate marathon teams will be featured in this race and seven runners from each of the qualifying teams run 100 km to win the race. There will be various events at the Gunma Kencho (the start of the race) and other relay points in many areas. Date: Tuesday, January 1st at 9:10 am Location: Starts and ends at the Gunma Kencho Contact: 027-226-2032