shiny happy people laughing
So, I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC. Dragged my mom and sister (and baby) along for the ride, as well. They drove me insane on the way there because they took way too long to get ready, brought too much stuff, and farted around halfway there by stopping at the dollar store for gift bags. I kept informing them that the Metro was going to be crazy as fuck that day, because of the festival. Oh, but they doubted my words of wisdom and continued on in their procrastinating ways. When we finally arrived, they brought out the giant stroller AND the car seat to lug baby around in, when we had a perfectly good smaller stroller available. I told them the Metro was going to be completely packed. They unwisely did not heed my words of warning. One we entered the station, there was a crowd of people waiting in the ticket line and my mother was taken aback. Fortunately, we seemed to have boarded the train before the crowd came in- which was directly at the next stop. At every stop after that as we neared Federal Triangle, the train became more and more packed. They had to stop the train several times because of the huge crowds in DC and the fact that the trains were practically on top of each other. (Like the passengers.) Coming OUT of Federal Triangle Metro station was a feat in itself, with everybody swarming like crazed lemmings.
"See?" I told my mom, "See? I'm not lying. When I tell you it's going to be crazy, I mean it."
"Yeah," said a security guard, who'd happened to hear me. "It's really crazy."
"I will never doubt your wise words again," my mother said, contrite.
And then we stepped out into the brilliant sunlight. People were walking around with kimono, wearing Pikachu masks, and carrying origami. This is because I chose to go to the stop closest to the Sakura Matsuri, the big Japanese street festival being held, and pretty much what most interested me as far as Cherry Blossom Festival events go. This turned out to be an excellent decision, because it was awesome. We synchronized watches and they went off on their merry way as I walked into the rows of vendors with J-Pop artists warbling on the stage nearby. They had people dressed as geisha walking around, what looked like a segment of an anime convention hanging out, and kids wearing anime masks. A couple people had what looked to be katana, but I don't think they were real. They looked real, but I don't know if they'd have live steel out in the middle of a crowded festival in Washington DC. Still, the effect was super-cool.
I went to see the tea ceremony, hung wishes for peace on a tree and looked at the Shintoism booth, watched martial arts and dancing, and listened to the musical artists they had in for the event. They had a vendor selling Japanese dolls, and showing the process in which the dolls were made, with unfinished dolls in fired clay hanging out with fabric pieces to be attached. I bought a little ox toy done by that process, and it's adorable. They had kokeshi and daruma dolls in other stands, as well. I also bought a geisha hairpiece, a book entirely on kimonos and their place in Japanese culture, kanzashi, and an Anpanman mask. Because it was cute. I saw a book I wanted to buy for the little girl I babysit: it was a child's book on katakana and very cute, but I didn't have enough money on me. Also in the book booth were a wide selection of anime artbooks in Japanese, shojo beat, shonen jump, and Japanese magazines. There was another book entirely about the tea ceremony that interested me, but not enough to buy over the kimono book. (Actually, the books kind of ate my soul, I'll admit.)
The food vendors also stole my soul. I got eel donburi, sansai udon, and onigiri. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough appetite left for takoyaki and yakitori after that. (Shoyu ramen tempted me, too, I'll admit, but we have that at home.) They had a couple beer gardens up for people who enjoy beer, so that was crowded as all get out. McDonalds had a stand in whih you got a bag along with what looked like the Japanese Happy Meal toy, and my little sister stood in line for that and calligraphy of Gabriel (the baby's) name, and my mom's name. Then we all stood in the McCafe line to get a free iced mocha coffee. It wasn't all that. Kind of watery, actually. I admit wanting it just for the whipped cream. It was a bitch and a half finding someplace to throw the trash away: every single trash can was already full to overflowing to the point where people were tossing their trash on the ground near the cans. I got a sense of littering guilt from doing that, and tried to balance mine on top of the heaping trash pyramid. It fell off. Oh well, I tried.
The ride back home was, if you can believe it, even more insane than the ride there. Huge crowds of people being stopped from entering the station so that the people leaving could exit first. There was zero personal space in that train for a discomforting period of time. But they eventually trickled off after a while, and I managed to get a seat for the ride back. When I got home, I kicked off my shoes, dragged my bag to my room, collapsed on the bed, and died. Just...passed out and felt nothing. Sooo tiring, but totally worth it.
...And now, I intend on seeing the actual blossoms tomorrow. XD
"See?" I told my mom, "See? I'm not lying. When I tell you it's going to be crazy, I mean it."
"Yeah," said a security guard, who'd happened to hear me. "It's really crazy."
"I will never doubt your wise words again," my mother said, contrite.
And then we stepped out into the brilliant sunlight. People were walking around with kimono, wearing Pikachu masks, and carrying origami. This is because I chose to go to the stop closest to the Sakura Matsuri, the big Japanese street festival being held, and pretty much what most interested me as far as Cherry Blossom Festival events go. This turned out to be an excellent decision, because it was awesome. We synchronized watches and they went off on their merry way as I walked into the rows of vendors with J-Pop artists warbling on the stage nearby. They had people dressed as geisha walking around, what looked like a segment of an anime convention hanging out, and kids wearing anime masks. A couple people had what looked to be katana, but I don't think they were real. They looked real, but I don't know if they'd have live steel out in the middle of a crowded festival in Washington DC. Still, the effect was super-cool.
I went to see the tea ceremony, hung wishes for peace on a tree and looked at the Shintoism booth, watched martial arts and dancing, and listened to the musical artists they had in for the event. They had a vendor selling Japanese dolls, and showing the process in which the dolls were made, with unfinished dolls in fired clay hanging out with fabric pieces to be attached. I bought a little ox toy done by that process, and it's adorable. They had kokeshi and daruma dolls in other stands, as well. I also bought a geisha hairpiece, a book entirely on kimonos and their place in Japanese culture, kanzashi, and an Anpanman mask. Because it was cute. I saw a book I wanted to buy for the little girl I babysit: it was a child's book on katakana and very cute, but I didn't have enough money on me. Also in the book booth were a wide selection of anime artbooks in Japanese, shojo beat, shonen jump, and Japanese magazines. There was another book entirely about the tea ceremony that interested me, but not enough to buy over the kimono book. (Actually, the books kind of ate my soul, I'll admit.)
The food vendors also stole my soul. I got eel donburi, sansai udon, and onigiri. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough appetite left for takoyaki and yakitori after that. (Shoyu ramen tempted me, too, I'll admit, but we have that at home.) They had a couple beer gardens up for people who enjoy beer, so that was crowded as all get out. McDonalds had a stand in whih you got a bag along with what looked like the Japanese Happy Meal toy, and my little sister stood in line for that and calligraphy of Gabriel (the baby's) name, and my mom's name. Then we all stood in the McCafe line to get a free iced mocha coffee. It wasn't all that. Kind of watery, actually. I admit wanting it just for the whipped cream. It was a bitch and a half finding someplace to throw the trash away: every single trash can was already full to overflowing to the point where people were tossing their trash on the ground near the cans. I got a sense of littering guilt from doing that, and tried to balance mine on top of the heaping trash pyramid. It fell off. Oh well, I tried.
The ride back home was, if you can believe it, even more insane than the ride there. Huge crowds of people being stopped from entering the station so that the people leaving could exit first. There was zero personal space in that train for a discomforting period of time. But they eventually trickled off after a while, and I managed to get a seat for the ride back. When I got home, I kicked off my shoes, dragged my bag to my room, collapsed on the bed, and died. Just...passed out and felt nothing. Sooo tiring, but totally worth it.
...And now, I intend on seeing the actual blossoms tomorrow. XD