Festival time, baby!

Sep 15, 2008 15:19

13-09-08 Kameari no Matsuri

So, woke up late Saturday (yesterday), around noon or so I think. We (Bryce and I) got dressed and tried to heat up some water for the curry mix Akiko's mom had put out for us, but something was funky with the stove and we couldn't get it to stay lit. So, we just got dressed and headed out to check out some vendors near the Jinja (shrine) and the Otera (temple). As we stepped out Akiko's mom seemed a bit confused to see us go, and due to the still apparent barriers in communication Bryce and I thought we had missed something important that morning, or that we had offended her somehow. So, while talking amidst ourselves about what to do, we wandered down in the direction of the mall which is next to the shrine. In front of the building was a group of guys who were starting to carry their areas mikoshi. We stopped to watch for a little bit and then kept on down and found the vendors. We walked around there for a little and each got a chocolate covered banana. It was nothing short of delicious and the smell of the festival food cooking all around it was fantastic to take in. I got to see some kids around the Kingyo sukui (“goldfish scoop”) which I have seen so many times in movies. It's quite fun to see things in person that I have seen repeatedly in other mediums. While we didn't buy any of the food it was a lot of fun to wander around the tents and just see what was there. Eventually we wound around them all and headed off to the 7/11 so I could try my card once again.
I had been having issues with using my card for about a week or so. It worked just fine the first two withdrawals, but after that the ATM's wouldn't accept it anymore. I sent an e-mail home to the padre to check into it for me, and it turns out that there was no travel notice on my account (my bad) so they had not allowed further transactions to go through. So, that was all taken care of and I was finally able to take out some money to pay back Bryce, who had been covering my expenses for me, and to have some of my own cash in my pocket. We grabbed some drinks which is an adventure every time for me. Since it is a whole new country, there is a whole new selection out there. From the half dozen (at least) kinds of teas to choose from, there are other soft drinks (Melon soda!) to choose from. I always love having new things to try, so it has been a fantastic gastronomical experience even just as far as drinks are concerned.
We then trekked on down to the local game center (five floors tall) to kill some time, and did just that. After a few rounds on Street Fighter 4 and Guilty Gear we headed out back to the house to meet up with Akiko, as she had just gotten home from work. We relaxed for a little while, and then all got ready for the festival. The family had a couple Happi (the traditional shirt for the festival) for us to wear, so we donned our robes and went down to join the crowd. Her father introduced us to a couple of the people from here, and it was nice to feel so welcome. Before long, we all lined up by the mikoshi and got ready to take it around the town.
After having (what I assume were) directions for the route that was going to be taken announced, everyone got ready. Right before picking it up, everyone clapped out in unison, and then bent down and up it went. It was a lot of fun, bobbing in time with everyone as the mikoshi swayed and chimed with its bells. Everyone involved (both those carrying and those walking beside) were clapping and chanting to help keep time. The mikoshi itself is quite heavy but with the entire group lifting it didn't seem too bad. However, it is important to keep time with the group, or else the beam that you are carrying on your shoulder will come down hard on your shoulder. Thankfully I was able to avoid this sort of painful experience, but even without it my should is a bit red and sore from it all. There were a couple breaks in the whole process. In order to take a break, the whole mikoshi is brought to a stop, and it is bounced around for a little bit on everyones shoulders, and then a couple people carrying little wooden saw horses would run underneath and it would be lowered down onto them. In all the years that this has been going on the mikoshi has never once touched the ground. During the break some mugicha (delicious refreashing wheat tea) was provided, and we stood around talking. The last leg of the route, which was the longest, wound it all the way back to where we started. I was in this leg from the beginning till the end, and part way through I thought I might have to take a break, but then I realized where we were and that we were not too far from the end. When we got back to the point where it had started from there was a bit of a countdown, and everyone raised the mikoshi up above our heads and clapped a rhythm out on the beams a couple times before it was once again lowered and put back on the saw horses. While I was quite tired and DRENCHED in sweat by the end, it was so much fun to be in the middle of it all bouncing and shouting with everyone. There was so much energy all around, even for the parts when I was walking beside and clapping along it was just so vibrant in every way. While we were standing around in the big group, Akiko's father, who was one of the main people involved, came by and gave Bryce and I some headbands. What this really means is that we are members of the group, or something along those lines. It's things like that, however small they seem, that I am truly thankful for with these people. They have been welcoming since day one, and while I have shared perhaps a total of 10 words with her father, he has always seemed completely open and welcoming. He was actually really glad that we were joining in, and during one of the stretches where Bryce and I were on the side, he actually came by to encourage us to join in. He also gave us an omiyage (gift/souvenir) of some sushi for the next day.
After getting back to the house and out of our sweat drenched clothes, Akiko's mom gave us some money and we walked down to an Izakaya for some food. Got a tasty veggie salad that had these tasty, tiny, crunchy fishy things in it, got some garlic bread (that had very little garlic, but was still good), gomoku soba (crunchy noodles that had octopus, squid, shrimp, and a DELICIOUS sauce all on top), tompei yaki (a dish that is rolled up in egg that is cooked... looks like an omelet really), and then some drinks. After talking for a while and enjoying the delicious food, we stopped by the 100 en store for some snacks and drinks and came back to watch Gremlins, which I had downloaded for us. Sometime past halfway through the movie I shifted down and drifted off to sleep. Heck, it was 1 a.m or so and we were waking up around 8.

14-09-08 Day 2

Woke up, took a shower, got ready. We sat around in the living room and ate the omiyage that the father had given us the night before, and it was nothing short of tastiness. We then headed out to watch the mikoshi heading down our way. The mikoshi that was being carried this morning was a very special one. It was about the same size as the one we carried last night, but this one belongs to the entire Kameari area. The one from last night was just for the area that Akiko lives in. This one started in one area, and then was carried along and passed from one area to the next. It has become a sort of symbol for unity, to help bring the entire Kameari area together. Since it was so special, one of the guys who was in charge was concerned about us wearing tennis shoes and participating in the carrying of it. While Akiko's father told us that we could probably get away with it if we stood in the very middle so no one could see, Bryce and I really didn't want to risk offending anyone, since this one belonged to the entire area. Even though, there were quite a few times when people would come up to us and encourage us to join in, but we had to politely explain that we couldn't. It was still great to have people want us to participate so much and it really makes one feel welcome here. So, we followed alongside and enjoyed watching the whole procession as it was carried through to the next area and then passed off. From there we came back to the house, where I sit now, and are simply relaxing until later. The whole festival is still going on, and every now and then I can hear the shouts and drums from outside passing by the building. Tonight is the big one I guess, and Bryce and I are going to stick around for as long as we can. I hope to, at some point in the day, make it back down to the vendors and get some tasty festival food. But once again, for now, I shall take my leave.

~ . ~

So, we eventually roused Akiko for long enough to head down to the vendors and grab some delicious food. We got some yakisoba, followed by some shaved ice and topped it off with another chocolate covered banana. The shaved ice was a lot of fun, because they give you a cup filled with the ice and just have a row of syrups that you can put on yourself, as much or as little as you would like and of any flavour you want. I covered mine with peach and strawberry and enjoyed each last bite/sip of it. At that point we grabbed a couple of the bananachoko (chocolate covered bananas) and headed back to the house to get ready. We robed up and headed back out to the Omikoshi to start the fun all over again.
The reason that this was the big run, was that it was the final run in the festival. The mikoshi was carried through the town and down an alley. Apparently someone had messed up on timing somewhere and we had to pull to the side and let the main one pass in front of us, since there is a specific order to the whole thing. Once everyone was lined up (and it was a lot of people!) we lifted it back up and proceeded towards the train station. It was a bit of a stop and go process, since they had to wait for the lights and had to pass by them one by one with the crowd following and surrounding the whole procession, but each stop gave us a chance to talk with the people. A couple of the guys, one of which is the older brother of a friend of Akiko's, were quite friendly and talked with us quite a bit. Another couple of the older guys joined in as well, and it was really quite fantastic (as I have said before) of exactly how welcoming they can be. It really seems to be true that once you are on the inside of a certain circle, they really warm up to you in no time. Either way, we chanted, yelled, clapped, bounced, jostled, and chatted our way up along the street to the station.
At the station, each of the mikoshi was gathered up in a big crowd as one of the older gentlemen (I am assuming he was a priest from the temple) spoke to the entire crowd. While I understood almost none of what was said, it was still a lot of fun to be there to hear it as well as talk with some of the people. Eventually the crowd got moving again, and in the same order they slowly filed out down another street towards the shrine. While it was more slow going I was able to hang in there for the most part and I absolutely loved the energy of the entire procession. It is also notable that there were a LOT of foreigners around, walking down the streets apparently enjoying the festival as well. I think I saw more gaijin there tonight than any other day that I have been here so far. However, it was cool being one of the few that was actually participating in the whole festival.
We had come to the last stretch and were quickly running out of time, since we had to be sure we could get back to the dorms without any worry of missing any trains. So, we stuck around for as long as we could, and I am glad we did. On the very last leg, which was more or less across the intersection and into the shrine's park, we were invited to stand at the very front of the mikoshi. It was just another great feeling to have them so excited that we were participating and also enjoying it so much. Before the last stretch of the run, Akiko's father told us that the headbands that he had given us to wear for the festival were ours to keep. So I am currently looking over at my dresser with my headband hanging on the handle. I know I have said this before, and I know I will most likely say it again, but the people here can be so welcoming, even in the smallest of gestures. So, with the understanding that we might have to leave soon, Bryce and I grabbed the front and hoisted it up with the rest of the group. The bad part about this was that behind both of us was a line of girls, and not to say that they weren't strong, but they were all quite a bit shorter than us, so we were bearing the majority of the weight for those poles. Before long a few guys came in so we could switch out, and we bid the mikoshi farewell and headed home.
We stripped off our sweat soaked tops and began packing everything up. Before long, we decided that we had enough time and could stick around in Kameari for a little while longer. Bryce and I jumped down to the 100 en store for some drinks and some boxers (boxers, for 100en ($1), so we could shower and change our skivvies) and came back to clean ourselves up a bit and enjoy another delicious meal at the Omata's house. Before long it was time to grab our bags and head out to the station to grab the train home. Now we are here, and it is late but I had to be sure to take this all down. So, once again, I am tired and I must sign off.
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