The 2009 opening is finally approaching tomorrow.

Today we invited the first graders of an elementary school in Shintoku town.

Sneak into the brown bear forest on a bear watching bus! Brown bears were conspicuous in the snow-covered park, and the students were excited as they spotted them, exclaiming, ``There it was!'' and ``There they were too!''

Then, when we got down to Bear Point, we all started running and got very close to the brown bear! I observed it up close and thought it was ``big'' and ``cool.''

NHK Obihiro came to cover the situation and tried to interview the children, but it seemed like they were all shy. The caster, Mr. Kusaka, kindly asked questions and managed to answer them.

This episode will be broadcast today on Marugoto Relay on Marugoto News Hokkaido. It will be broadcast in the Hokkaido area, but if you live in Hokkaido, please watch it.

■NHK Marugoto News Hokkaido 18:20-18:40