The Rotary Club of Kyoto Rakuhoku was established in September 6th 1973, as the ninth club in “the Millennium City of Kyoto,” with 23 Charter Members, and the Rotary Club of Kyoto East as its sponsor club.
The meeting venue at the time of establishment was Holiday Inn Kyoto, which was then moved to Kyoto Royal Hotel & Spa, then to the present venue of Hotel Okura Kyoto, located next to the Kyoto City Hall. Through the 49 years of our history since the establishment, we have grown to become a club with 70 members. Currently, we are carrying out many activities based on our established tradition.
Though the average age of the members is at 64, our club holds each generation evenly, from ages of thirties to eighties.
The long tradition of the 100% attendance after MAKE-UP (absence supplementation) by all members that had lasted over 30 years has been revived, and the entire members have successfully achieved 100% attendance with MAKE-UP included for the past few years.
The COVID-19 disaster has made it very difficult to achieve the MAKE-UP, and even with the newly introduced system of the Deemed Attendance during the COVID-19, the average attendance rate for meetings (attendance to home club) has dropped to around 80%. Although it is slightly lower than average years, it still remains exceedingly high, and our club successfully maintains its bright and cheerful meeting atmosphere, which is the charm that keeps the high attendance rate for the home club. As the COVID-19 countermeasure at our meetings, we keep distance between seats, remain silent while eating, and take all other necessary measures.
Thus, Kyoto Rakuhoku Rotary Club has been contributing to the local community and actively participating in various activities that contribute to the youth development.
Moreover, Kyoto Rakuhoku Rotary Club offers various lively group activities for friendship cultivation. Although many of club activities are on hold due to the current COVID-19 crisis, there are many opportunities to get acquainted with kindred minds of varieties of hobbies, physical level, and regardless of age. Some of the clubs includes: the "Golf Group" with the largest members, the "Music Band" with the big band consisted of mostly beginners who had never touched music instrument until their middle or old age, the "Outdoors Group" that tries on a wide range of fun stuff, anything from fishing, skiing to live music sessions, the "Hara Hara Group" that simply enjoy filling up their stomach with delicious meals, and the "Railroad Group" that enjoys travel by train.
Upon taking on the post of the 2022-2023 fiscal year President of this Rotary Club of Kyoto Rakuhoku, I set the presidential slogan for this fiscal year to be “Discover the New by Studying the Past”.
With
RI President Jennifer E. Jones’ Theme
“Imagine Rotary”
and
District Governor Yasuhiro Oga’s Slogan
“Moving, Inspiring, and Thankful”
along with my own in mind, I promise to fulfill my duty to make the Rotary Club of Kyoto Rakuhoku appealing.