A day trip for the juries, who have only seen their hotel rooms and the hall, was held on the 20th to introduce the city, Hamamatsu.

The tour bus left the central Hamamatsu at 10AM. Each passenger enjoyed the trip the way they liked - some were looking out the windows and some were into chatting.

Just after 11 o'clock, the bus arrived "Katsuragi Kitanomaru," the traditional Japanese style hotel in Fukuroi city, where the Japan national team stayed during the FIFA 2002 World Cup Korea Japan. The beauty of traditional Japanese architecture impressed the party very much.

After arriving, two groups were formed. One group enjoyed the Japanese garden outside and the other enjoyed Japanese rooms. The elegant garden in a misty rain was very beautiful filled with bush clovers and Japanese silver leaves. The juries listened carefully when the staff member gave an explanation.

After the walk, the lunch in a Japanese tatami room with Japanese cushions was ready. To make it easier for the foreign juries who might find it difficult to sit on the floor, the hotel places extra cushions.

The menu was made of local ingredients in the season. One said looking at the food, "It is very beautiful like an art work. I don't want to ruin the beauty by eating it." Karasumi, or Botargo served as an appetizer surprised some juries with its salty taste. Everybody was using chopsticks well when eating sashimi with soy sauce and Japanese horseradish paste. It was the opening day of Boujourais Nouveau. Alcohol kept the conversation going.

Shizuoka is known with its green tea. The bus ran through the tea fields and arrived the museum of tea. In the tea ceremony room, they had a taste of green tea. As the room was very small, some tall juries had a hard time getting into it. When they found out that they could make a sound while sipping, they were very surprised and laughed.
Most of them liked the taste. One even said, "I want to drink it every day." They also enjoyed shopping and were very satisfied.

On the way back to Hamamatsu, some juries fell asleep. They must be tired.
We appreciate your work every day. We hope you could rest a little.