On 15 May, the bus trip was held to visit Kiryu, the city of silk textile, and Watarase-river Valley in Gunma Prefecture. 32 participants first visited ‘Matsui Knitting Inn Crafts MFG’, which produces universally acclaimed knit scarves in its small family factory, and Mr. Matsui also showed us a traditional movable stage and a festival float in the nearby storage. After being overwhelmed by their powerful beauty, we enjoyed Japanese style lunch, and visited ‘Goto Textile Company’. We made a tour in the traditional saw-tooth roofed factory, where beautiful obi was being woven by a small number of skilled workers. Then we drove along the Watarase-river Valley, enjoying pretty flowers of paulownia and thick green foliage. In ‘Tomihiro Art Museum’ by the Lake Kusaki, we were moved by the poems and paintings of wildflowers by Tomihiro Hoshino. On the rather chilly day in May, we were touched by the spirit of the people who are determined to preserve their traditional culture, and shared the time to discover JAPAN.