Festival

The plan for tonight was to drop a co-worker off at the train station, get groceries, and then spend a quiet evening catching up on things and listening to Lance kick some more butt. There’s also usually an English movie on Friday nights (don’t laugh – it’s a highlight if you’ve spent all week trying not to watch Japanese TV). The plan started to go awry almost immediately.

Coming into town, we noticed that there was at least one police officer at every street corner, which seemed a little odd. And the main road through town was barricaded, with lots of kimono-clad girls walking in the now car-free zone. Light began to dawn – it’s some kind of summer festival. I was actually able to get to the train station ok, but getting to the apartment involved driving all the way around to my side of town, finding a sympathetic police officer, and pleading in pantomime to be let through the barrier. I think they gave in just because I was holding up traffic.

Just as I was getting ready to go see the sights, the phone rang. It was Mrs. Portland, calling to tell me there was a festival tonight. No, really?

Since she was standing outside my apartment when she called, I couldn’t escape and we ended up walking around together. Which was actually rather amusing. She’s teaching English in the local elementary schools, so most of the little kids know her. They come running up to show off their kimono and inflatable toys and shyly say hi. A lot of the parents also speak enough English to say hello as well, given the proper incentive.

The concept of a street festival is also apparently universal. Everyone comes out to socialize, there are popcorn and cotton candy machines, illicit fireworks get set off ... The only real differences I saw were the complete lack of any games, and the booths selling deep fried squid and herring on a stick. Sorry, I wasn’t brave enough to try either. I did try the shaved ice though (flavor was “blue hawaii”) – he actually had a block of ice on a vertical lathe with an attached scraper!

I wasn’t really paying attention, but most of the kids walking around were girls. The boys were all off with their dads, getting ready for the main event – the parade. The grandfathers walk before and after, carrying lit lanterns. The boys (with dads’ help) carry a miniature temple around town on poles, yelling and stomping as they shake it around. The kicker though, is the costumes. To a man, the carriers are dressed in white ankle-length booties, a white sumo-like loincloth, and a white apron. Nothing else. Yes, it was an entire parade of naked butt checks!