A day off with books. Library Strolls

This course lets you spend an entire day with books at Ebina City Central Library (海老名市立中央図書館), open from 9am to 9pm, 365 days a year. Admission is free. Inside, a striking wall of bookshelves greets you, along with a dedicated children's book floor where each family member can enjoy books at their own pace. Parking and strollers are available, so families with small children can visit with peace of mind. In the morning, head to Ebina Central Park (海老名中央公園), right outside the East Exit of Ebina Station (海老名駅). Inside the park stands a vermillion pagoda, a roughly one-third scale reproduction of the seven-story pagoda of Sagami Kokubunji Temple (相模国分寺), built in the Nara period, letting you encounter history in the middle of the city. After a leisurely walk through Bina Walk (ビナウォーク), the shopping mall surrounding the park, head to the library in the afternoon. Since it stays open into the evening, the luxury unique to this library is being able to reach for one more book without worrying about closing time.

In Miura City, home to Misaki Port and famous for tuna, this course lets you enjoy both the lively port and a quiet time with books in a single day. In the morning, head from Misakiguchi Station (三崎口駅) toward the port and enjoy the bustling atmosphere of a fishing town at Urari Marché (うらりマルシェ), a direct-sales center for Misaki tuna and Miura-grown vegetables. The highlight of the afternoon is the main building of Miura City Library (三浦市図書館), inside the City Hall Second Annex. Housed in a former junior high school building, it has a nostalgic charm, with bookshelves lining what were once classrooms. The main building is open from 9:00 to 17:00, and there is also a Hasshō Branch (初声分館) closer to Misakiguchi Station (10:00 to 17:00, until 19:00 on Tuesdays and Fridays). The library is closed on Mondays, on the monthly organizing day at month's end, on public holidays, and during the New Year holidays (December 27 to January 4), so please check before you go. How about ending your day in the port town by turning the pages of a book together as a family?

This is a day to visit Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa-bunko (神奈川県立金沢文庫), which carries on the lineage of one of Japan's oldest samurai-family libraries, founded by a warrior clan in the Kamakura period. Kanazawa-bunko is a museum that has inherited the history of preserving and passing down the books collected by Hojo Sanetoki, a leading figure of the Kamakura shogunate. Opening hours are 9:00-16:30 (last admission 30 minutes before closing). Admission to the special exhibition is 250 yen for adults, 150 yen for those under 20 and students, 100 yen for those 65 and over, 100 yen for high school students, and free for junior high school students and younger; use of the reading room only is free. In the morning, visit the neighboring Shomyoji Temple (称名寺). This temple, associated with Hojo Sanetoki, has a Pure Land-style garden where a vermilion-lacquered arched bridge and a flat bridge cross the pond, a precious landscape that conveys the atmosphere of the Kamakura period. After walking through the garden, head through the tunnel to Kanazawa-bunko: the very location connecting the temple and the library tells the story of knowledge in the Kamakura period. This is a course like a journey through time, given to families who love books and history. Closed on Mondays (open if a national holiday), and closed from December 28 to January 4 for the New Year holidays.