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Experience “Lake Hamana Boat Race” for the first time in a special seat! “Short trip” with a guide that is safe for beginners

What image do you have when you hear the word “boat race”?

After reading this, your image may change!

Be surprised by the bright and beautiful “Boat Race Lake Hamana”!

This time, Ayaka and Chinatsu, who came from Tahara City, Aichi Prefecture, were selected as monitors to experience the “Boat Race Hamana Lake” in Kosai City, Shizuoka Prefecture for the first time.

And there are three people, Ms. Ririka, who came to our foundation as an intern from Hamamatsu Gakuin University.

This is the first time for all three of them to come to Lake Hamana for the boat race.

Once we had gathered at the meeting point, we met up with the “Hamana Musume Crew” (hereinafter referred to as the “Crew”) who would be our guide for the day.

When you go through the entrance…

“amazing! It’s like a theme park! ! ” “It’s beautiful and looks like a luxury hotel!! ” is the impression that pops out.

In fact, all the monitors said they had the impression that boat races were a little scary.

It seems that stereotypes have been overturned as the building is clean, spacious, and bright with plenty of sunlight.

The crew will guide you to a special “guest seat”.

The moment you open the door to your room, Lake Hamana is right in front of you!

The two, who came from Tahara City, Aichi Prefecture, found the scenery refreshing. We immediately took a commemorative photo with Lake Hamana in the background.

The guest seats with a panoramic view have a special feel.

What is written on the ''race list'' that you see for the first time?

Once the commemorative photo session had settled down, the three of them received cards containing the BOAT RACE Beginner’s GUIDE, today’s entry list, and 500 yen of electronic money from the Hamana Musume crew.

The entry list is lined with numbers and alphabets, and it is difficult for beginners to understand what is written on it or where to start looking.

”The order of strength is ”A1,” ”A2,” and ”Think of the higher the number, the stronger it is,” he explains carefully one by one.

For example, it can be seen from the race list that ”Results by course across the country are important, and I entered one course 20 times and finished in second place 17 times.”

When I looked down at the surface of the lake, I saw a boat.

Here, the crew will also explain how to view the race and the athletes.

Crew: “Once you fly, you get 30 days off. A day off when you can’t work. ”

“What! So much (long period)! ”

Crew: ”It is advantageous for athletes to be lighter, so the minimum weight for men is 52kg, and for women 47kg.”

“What! light! ”

The stories I heard from the crew were all things I didn’t know. Satisfy your thirst for knowledge.

Enjoy the special feeling of a guest seat

I took a breather here while waiting for the race.

There is a free drink corner outside the guest seats. There is also a kitchen truck near the entrance, so you can bring in the food you have purchased.

Just relaxing and eating delicious food while watching the race and the scenery of Lake Hamana will relieve you of your daily stress.

In addition to the guest seats, the crew will also tell you that there is a single seat for 1,500 yen and a group room (Royal Room) for 8,000 yen that can accommodate up to 8 people.

”It would be fun to have a girls’ night out!” he says excitedly.

Vote and buy your boat ticket!

When voting time for the 6th race finally begins, we listen to an explanation of how to buy boat tickets.

As I became familiar with the crew, the two monitors started asking questions such as “What is an expanded duplication (*1)?”

After listening to the explanation, Ayaka wrote “enhanced duplication” and Chinatsu wrote “double duplication (*2)” on their voting cards, and then purchased them using a special terminal.

”Once you press the purchase button, you won’t be able to cancel after all, so please be careful,” the crew advised.

(*1) Expanded series: Guess which two boats will come in 1st to 3rd place, regardless of their ranking. You will win even if the two selected boats finish 1st-2nd, 1st-3rd, or 2nd-3rd.

(*2) Two in a row: Guess the boat that will finish first and second regardless of the ranking. For example, if you buy 3-5, it will be a hit even if 5 comes first and 3 comes second, and even if 3 comes first and 5 comes second.

The 6th race begins.

Immediately after the start of the race, the second boat suddenly capsized, making for an eventful beginning. Both the athletes in boat No. 2 and the other athletes were safe, but you can see firsthand that this is a life-threatening sport. If a vehicle overturns, it is said that overtaking will not be possible to ensure safety.

The result was 3-6-5.

Ayaka-san bought a 3-5 extended series, and Chinatsu-san bought a 3-6 double series, so they won!

I received the best smile and peace!

Since they came, they were enthusiastic about winning at least one prize, and quickly achieved their goal.

You can enjoy up to the 8th race on a short trip, so let’s keep on guessing!

The editorial department asked questions about what caught their attention in the crew’s conversations.

“The word ”makuri ga kiku” comes up often, but what does it mean? ”

“One of the tactics is to roll it up (pull it out) from the outside.”

It is said to be the most dynamic technique among the traditional moves, and there are many fans of makuri.

You can rest assured that the crew will kindly answer any basic questions you may have.

Ririka told me, “I just saw (Makuri) before the tour!”

In the 7th race, Rika, who had been watching the event for a while, decided to buy a boat ticket for the first time.

With a serious look, I wrote on my voting card and purchased the “1-3-4” trifecta and triple at the same time.

The result was 1-4-3. Ririka won three in a row!

All three of us were complete beginners, but we were able to guess!

Experience a “boat race” for the first time

Finally, we asked all the monitors what they thought.

”I want to recommend this place to many people.”

“I thought it was a deep sport.”

“When I saw it for the first time, it was more powerful than I expected. The scenery is great too! ”

Everyone left the guest room feeling satisfied with their first boat racing experience.

When parting with the crew,

“Not only was the explanation easy to understand, but I’m glad you enjoyed it! ”

“I had so much fun today! ”

It seems that the memories of this day were deeply engraved in their hearts as they took commemorative photos while expressing their honest impressions.

A new type of boat racing experience “VR Splash Battle”

Lastly, with this plan, you can not only watch the race, but also have a “VR experience” where you can feel like you are a racer!

It’s a very immersive experience where you sit just like a real player (there are no chairs, you sit straight), you see realistic images from VR goggles, and you can see the wind and water splashing around you.