Hozanji hiking tour was held on Sunday, November 28, to offer an opportunity for students to expand their knowledge of history and culture of Ikoma city where NAIST is located and to develop their relationships with each other. This event was one of cultural interactive projects with Ikoma city based on our comprehensive cooperative agreement.

 The group of 15 students first visited Hozanji Temple in Mt. Ikoma using a cable car. This temple is popular with those praying for success and luck in business. With the special offer from Ikoma City, the students could visit "Shishi-kaku" which is one of Important Cultural Properties and opened to public only a few times a year. The students were listening to guidance about the history of Hozanji area from Ikoma tour volunteers and seemed to be very interested in it.

 After then, they hiked to the top of Mt. Ikoma where an amusement park called "Ikoma sanjo amusement park" is located. They interacted with students from other laboratories and the volunteers on the way to the park. At the amusement park, they could enjoy some rides and the view from the top of the mountain.

 This event ended successfully as students deepened their knowledge of Ikoma's history and culture with the support from Ikoma city and the tour guide volunteers. After the event, the participants said, "It was a great opportunity to see inside "Shishi-kaku" at Hozanji Temple", "We could make new friends". "I found myself loving hiking, so I would like to try Mt. Fuji someday". Looking back at the excursion, we feel that it offered much more for the students than we had planned.