The idea for this activity came from female farmers - they wanted to let students bring something home as a reminder of their trip. After a series of discussions, the Hachi-kun Souvenir Making activity was born. This lucky charm with Hachi-kun* brings good luck to help people realize their dreams!

In this activity, participants use a hot iron to brand a picture of Hachi-kun on a piece of fragrant Akita cedar. They then write their wishes on the back and tie a cord with special knot by themselves. The tablets are then brought to the Odate Shinmeisha Shrine and prayed over. At the end of the program, each tablet is handed back the students by their Odate "mothers", the female farmers who worked with the students during the activity. The tablets make a one-of-a-kind souvenir of time spent in Odate.

* Odate's mascot based off of the faithful dog Hachi, who waited for 10 years for master's return.

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Hachi-kun Souvenir Making