Festival Time

Still catching up on things we did in July so here are some fun festivals we went to! Sorry that it's a bit much, but it was this or I'll be still updating on Japan things at Christmas.

I was still at my teacher training program in Saitama for most of the week, but on the weekends we were getting out and about. Tokyo was pretty hot by this stage (every phone call home was a stark contrast as we saw people all wrapped up in their winter woolies!) and there were so many festivals. 

The first one we went to was a tanabata festival in kappadoshi, otherwise known as "kitchen town". Tanabata is a star festival that happens usually on the 7th of July, though sometimes it's celebrated in early August as well. It's based on a folk tale originally from China about two stars in the heavens who fall in love and get married but then neglect their work. The king of heaven has to seperate them with the Milky Way and they are only allowed to meet once a year. There's more to it, but that's the essential story. 

People write wishes on colourful strips of paper and hang them on bamboo. That's a really prevalent part of tanabata - there are bamboo trees (both fake and real) everywhere with the paper for people to write their wishes readily available. They are at the shops, schools, doctors, everywhere! The one pictured above was at the BJJ tournament we went to, and the one below is from the foyer of the centre I was staying at in Saitama. It was hoisted up after everyone attached their wishes. 

When we went to kappadoshi for the festival, there were street vendors selling food and shaved ice; a summer festival staple. It's a bit like a snow cone, but not compacted so much easier to eat. Very cool to have on a hot summer day. 

There were also a variety of games for the kids to play. A lot of them involve fishing things out of water - probably to help keep kids cool. This one below was colourful balloons floating in the water with a longish elastic string on them. You were given a smaller paper string with a hook on the end and you have until the paper falls apart in the water to hook as many balloons as you can. 

Since the balloon elastics are so long, it's tricky to get the exact balloon you want, especially with the time pressure of your swiftly disintegrating paper string. Rachel was successful in scooping up two balloons though, which are fun to bounce around and play with. They have a bit of water inside and on their elastic strings act kind of like yoyos. 

The whole (very long) street was decorated for tanabata with colourful streamers and lanterns. We watched a parade of various groups, the local police force and a number of primary school brass bands. The school bands were pretty amazing, but also amusing to watch, because they were surrounded by parents spritzing the kids with water and then fanning them cool. Each band was followed by a cart full of the water bottles for each kid and when they paused in the parade they were handed out for hydration before quickly being packed up so the kids could march on. 

I may have been slightly emotional watching the parade as I thought about the times I've taught tanabata at school and now I actually got to see it and be part of it. What a huge privilege it is to have this time in Japan. I also went solo to a tanabata festival in Saitama. 

It was so cool to see the light displays reminding us of the Milky Way from the story of tanabata. 

Pretty lights at night time and candles floating on the lake. 

Our next festival was a bit of a spontaneous one as I was heading back to Saitama on a Sunday night. We all went out to Ueno together, stored my suitcase in a coin locker at the station and then went to a craft beer and dance festival in the park. 

Again, loads of food stalls and Steve enjoyed the craft beer. The girls got this enormous rainbow shaved ice to share and we watched the dancers on the main stage. There were about eight performers wearing yukata and doing a mix of traditional dance and modern. Rachel and I were also wearing our yukata. So much fun dancing along and the cooler evening was much nicer than a hot day! 

Then I took the train back to Sitama while Steve and the girls went home for another week. 

The next week saw us back at Ueno but in a completely different part of the park. 

I'd arranged a final meet up with a friend of mine from school and her two kids at the furin matsuri; the wind chime festival. The park has a big lake that was full of lotus plants; lush, green and in full bloom. So different to when we were there back in March! (If you scroll down on this post there is a photo of the girls and I under a cherry blossom tree and you can see the lake in the background - complete contrast!)

Along with the beautiful lotus plants, there were thousands of wind chimes set up around the boardwalk on the lake. Every time the wind blew, those chimes made the most incredible noise. It really was spectacular. 

Hilariously, as we walked around the lake, I was admiring the willow trees when I spotted a light green snake in the tree above us. I called out that I could see a hebi, which is the Japanese word for snake. Steve however, heard ebi which is the Japanese word for prawns. He was very confused as to what I could be pointing at in the tree. 

Rachel and I were really enjoying wearing yukata to all these events, but Sophie was not keen. She had actually started in a yukata this day, opting to wear a purple one that I'd bought, rather than the red one I'd made for her, but after making it all the way to Ueno on the train, she just wanted it off. Thankfully she was still wearing her regular clothes underneath, so it wasn't a problem. She told me that she just felt too stand-y out-y and she just wanted to be more invisible. 

There are always stacks of people at festivals in the summer wearing their yukata, even the guys, so I actually feel less conspicuous there than usual. I guess for Sophie, who is tall, nearly a teen and not Japanese, I can understand feels like she stands out all the time here. While I do feel she's missed an opportunity, I can respect her choices. Does this make me a "cool mum"? I don't know, but probably not. 

We had a shaved ice with mango on it; delicious! 

I reckon festival vibes really make summer time in Japan so worth it.