My first year as an ALT I was desperate to make the most of my time in Gunma and see as many things as time and money would allow. When I asked people what there was to do in Gunma, or what their recommendations were, I got the same depressing answer…
"Gunma has nothing special. Just cabbage and konyaku. There is nothing to do. It is so boring."
Great way to promote your prefecture and make people want to visit… (consequently Gunma Prefecture is ranked 47th out of 47 for tourism in Japan)
At first I was disappointed that I had been sent to such a boring place with nothing to do… but luckily my curiosity and desire for adventure helped me to form a plan.
Jomo Karuta!
Gunma’s very own version of the popular card game Karuta was created in 1947, and includes famous places and people from around the prefecture. Many schools in Gunma play this game, and there are even regional and prefecture tournaments each year to crown the Jomo Karuta Champion of Gunma!
With an ALT friend, I set out on an adventure - visit all the places in Jomo Karuta before leaving Japan.
A thousand wrong turns, and millions of photos later we discovered that Gunma, the land of cabbage and konyaku, was a treasure chest full of adventures, if only you took the time to look...
・・・アドベンチャーを探しに行こう！
初めてALTとして中之条町に来た時、群馬に住む時間を無駄にしないように時間とお金が許すかぎり県内で遊ぶつもりでいた。でも群馬県民達におすすめスポットを聞いたら毎回同じ残念な答えがでた・・・
「群馬県には何も特別なものがないよう。ただキャベッツとこんにゃくだよ。やることがない・・・つまんないとこだな・・・」
群馬県へ訪れる良いPRではなかった。（だから観光人気ランクイングでビリだね）
その答えを聞いて、何でこんなに田舎の所に行かされたの？！と思って少し落ち込んでた。だが、そこであきらめていなかった！
上毛カルタだ！
群馬の名物がいっぱい書かれてある上毛カルタを小学校の教材として使っていた時、いろんな面白そうな所を発見した。
それでALTの友達と目標を決めた：帰国する前に上毛カルタの場所と物を巡る。
何百回道を間違って、何万枚写真を取って、キャベッツとこんにゃくの天国、群馬県には、探してみれば宝物がいっぱい隠れてあると気づいた・・・
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