Monday, July 7, 2025
Everyone's Square "Omusubi"
Event Report
On Saturday, June 28th from 10:00am, the "Minna no Hiroba Omusubi" event, sponsored by the Hokuryu Town Social Welfare Council, a social welfare corporation, was held at the Hokuryu Town Senior Citizens' Welfare Center.
More than 10 townspeople, both children and adults, participated and had fun playing four different games.
What is "Omusubi"?
Everyone's Square "Omusubi" is a new business that started in April this year. Every Monday from 1pm to 5pm, the gymnasium in the welfare center is open to the public, and people of all ages can participate and enjoy a variety of sports.
The event is held once a month, and on the day, four competitions were held: "Barrier Breaking," "Ladder Getter," "Slipper Tossing," and "Racket Relay."
What happened on the day
Stick a sticker on the stamp card
First, participants were given a stamp card.
Children were free to choose their favorite stickers from a wide variety of colorful stickers and stick them on the cards. The children chose their favorite stickers without hesitation and stuck them on the cards with smiles on their faces.
They chose their favorite stickers and stuck them on the cards with smiles on their faces.
Megumi Murai, Regional Welfare Section Chief, Hokuryu Town Social Welfare Council, giving an explanation of the event
Megumi Murai, head of the local welfare section, gave a detailed explanation about the competition.
Make your body flexible with warm-up exercises (radio calisthenics)!
Events held: 4 events
breaking through or sneaking past a barrier
Decide who will be the gatekeeper, start, and play rock-paper-scissors with the gatekeeper. If you win, you return to the starting point and pass the baton to the next person. If you lose, you go around the gatekeeper once and play rock-paper-scissors again. If you lose three times, you go around the gatekeeper once and pass the baton to the next person!
breaking through or sneaking past a barrier ladder getter
This is a game where two balls connected by a string are thrown towards a ladder, and if the balls get caught (hang) on the ladder, they score. The top rung of the ladder is worth 3 points, the middle rung is worth 2 points, and the bottom rung is worth 1 point. If the balls get caught in both places, the total points are added up. If they don't get caught, the points are 0.
Throwing is harder than you'd think! Slipper throwing
This is a sport in which participants kick a slipper with one foot and compete for points based on the distance they can reach.
What happened to the slippers? Adults are fascinated too! Racket Relay
This is a game where you put a ball on a racket and carry it without dropping it. If it falls, your friends will help you pick it up. With each player change, the number of balls you can put on the racket increases.
Let's all work together!!! Finally, put a basketball on it!
A speech by Megumi Murai, Head of the Community Welfare Section
"The purpose of Omusubi, the Everyone's Square, is to develop the community as a place where all townspeople, from children to adults, can interact with each other. It also welcomes a wide range of people from outside the town.
The meaning of this "Omusubi" is that it is an auspicious food and it has the meaning of connecting people. We named this place "Omusubi" because we felt that it was a very gentle word and good for it, so that this place will be a place where you can make friends, spread to the local area, and meet someone and connect with them.
My dream for the future is to make rice balls with the newly harvested rice from Hokuryu Town and eat them together, including the elderly and children," says Section Chief Murai.
Weekly Activities
- Monday:Everyone's Plaza (Social Welfare Council, afternoon)
The facility is open from 1:00 p.m. and closes at 5:00 p.m. (seniors, elementary school students, and nursery school children and their parents are welcome to visit after 4:00 p.m.). - Tuesday:Orange Cafe, Morimori Exercise
- Wednesday:Pottery class (Social Welfare Association, morning), Morning Glory Club (Hekisui)
- Thursday:Morning Glory Club (Japanese)
- Friday:Smile Club (Kokowa)
"Omusubi" connects people of all ages.
We put our boundless love, gratitude and prayers into "Minna no Hiroba Omusubi," where all the townspeople can enjoy sports in a fun and joyful way.
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◇ ◇ Photography, editing and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi
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