BCJSBTF – VANCOUVER ISLAND OBON TOUR.

This Vancouver Island Obon Tour started in 2017 and continued in 2018 and 2019. The 2022 Obon Tour will begin on Saturday, August 12 at the Steveston Buddhist Temple and will head straight for the Campbell River area. We will visit Elk Falls, where we will experience the grandeur and power of Elk Falls and take in the sights of the surrounding area. We will stay overnight in a hotel in the area.

The next morning, August 13, we will meet Mrs. Mizuho Ogasawara, leader of the Comox Valley Nikkei Society, at the Campbell River Museum for a guided tour. After lunch we head to Cumberland where we hope to meet with Mayor Leslie Baird and Dawn Copeman of the Cumberland Museum. We will have a tour of Number 1 Mining site where the Japan Town used to be located. A walking tour will follow where markers tell the stories of the people who lived there. Subsequently, we will visit the Cumberland Japanese cemetery and have a Buddhist Obon Service in the quiet, peaceful place. We will continue the tour with visits to the cemeteries of Port Alberni, and Nanaimo. We will stay in a hotel in Nanaimo and have a special Obon Tour Dinner in honour of the current survivors and those who have come in the past.

The 2022, Obon Tour will conclude on Sunday, August 12, with visits to Chemainus, Duncan and the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria. At each cemetery, we will have a brief Obon Service. From Victoria we take the ferry from Shwartz Bay to Tsawaassen and return to Steveston.

The Vancouver Island Obon Cemetery visitation is an annual BCJSBT Federation event and we hope it will continue for many years.

• Listing ID: 1503
• Primary Applicant: BC Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples Federation
• Event or Completion Date: August 12-13, 2022
• Approved Amount: $9,500
• Location: Vernon, BC