11日 島根に27名の欧米からのゲストを案内。前日(日本庭園を代表する)兼六園を訪れたであろう多くのゲストがこの日も2つの日本庭園を巡る事から ハードルはやや高いと感じた。 ゲストが支払う価値に見合うツアーか否か? 
On March 11, I guided 27 foreign tourists to Shimane Prefecture. Many of my guests had visited "Kenroku-en" Garden (one of the most famous Japanese gardens) the day before, and I knew that visiting two Japanese gardens on 11th would require a high level of skill as a guide. Is my tour worth what my guests pay for?

【島根県_足立美術館  Adachi Museum of Art 

解説のポイントは、ヨーロッパと日本の庭園の違い、②一般的な日本庭園と今回案内する2つの庭園との違い、③これら2つの庭園の違いを簡潔に伝えること である。 更に、本ツアーのメイン施設である足立美術館と密接な関係にある(欧米人にほとんど馴染みのない)横山大観と北大路魯山人の解説の切口を誤れば、ゲストはガイドの詰まらない話につきあわされる羽目になる。これらの課題を整理しツアーにストーリー性をもたらす事でツアーに価値をもたらすことになる。
The main points of guiding are to briefly convey  the differences between European and Japanese gardens,  the difference between a typical Japanese garden and two gardens I guided, and the difference between those two gardens. Furthermore, if the two artists, who are closely related to the Adachi Museum of Art, the main focus of this tour (and largely unfamiliar to Westerners), are not explained in the right way, guests will be forced to follow the guide's tedious explanations. Furthermore, guests will be forced to follow the guide's tedious explanations unless they are concise and easy to understand about the (unfamiliar to Westerners) two artists who are closely associated with the Adachi Museum of Art, the main focus of this tour. By organizing these issues, I could bring a narrative to the tour.

【島根県_由志園 Yuushi-en Japanese Garden】

ツアー終了時のゲストの反応でツアーの手応えは十分確認出来た。ただ、個人的な好みからすると、日本庭園づくしツアーより境港の『水木しげるロード』にポテンシャルを感じた。「ゲゲゲ」も欧米人には馴染み無いが。
I could confirm the success of the tour through the guest's response at the end of the tour.  However, from my personal taste, I felt that “Mizuki Shigeru Road” in Sakaiminato city has more potential than a tour full of Japanese gardens. Although it might be a challenge that anime characters known to all Japanese people are not familiar to Westerners...   

【鳥取県_境港~水木しげるロード Saakaiminato MIzuki Shigru Road】

※カラスは本物 The crow next to Kitaro is real!

境港駅、列車はもちろん車内も鬼太郎キャラ一色