We went to Hazu's Hi Matsuri in mid February. I can honestly say, I've never seen anything like it. We got to the festival around dusk. When we got there, there were lots of tents lined up selling all sorts of Japanese festival food. I didn't any real food, but I did get Kitty-chan (that's what we call Hello Kitty here) cotton candy. Which was awesome. I also tried Taiyaki for the first time. Also, awesome.
In the middle of the park there was this giant...thing. I don't know a better way to describe it. It was made of bamboo and dried grass.
And...the festival involved setting it on fire.
...And then several young guys shook the thing, so it would fall onto the ground, fire and all--nearly setting fire to the people shaking it.
Needless to say, it was crazy. But it was pretty cool.
We went to Oni Matsuri in Takisanji the following weekend. A couple of my students invited me to join them. This festival was also crazy. It too, revolved around people nearing setting themselves on fire and involved the added bonus of possibly setting a thousand year old temple on fire! X_X
It started with these really old men singing traditional Japanese songs over a very poor PA system. Then a guy did an exhibition with a traditional Japanese weapon. Then came the fire. Thirty men of all ages lit torches and dragged around three men dressed up as a Grandfather, Grandmother, and Grandchild demon. The torches were huge! In fact, they were so big that their flames were literally licking the roof of the temple!
After the matsuri was over, we went to my student's house and hung out. We ate tons of food and had an awesome time. I got to try Japanese candy apples for the first time, and man they were good!
The 26th of Feburary was Rhett and I's three year anniversary. We went to Aeon Mall to celebrate. I wore a really nice dress and we ate at the all-you-can-eat shabu-shabui restaurant. It was really good! After that, we hit the arcade in Kota and played some Taiko Drum Master. Then we went to Gusto (it's a Family Style Restaurant here) and had desert. It was a really fun night.
The next day, Tim's class had a special luncheon for the new teachers. They made a buffet for us! There was sooooooo much food that I was overwhelmed. It was all really good too. We even got to drink matcha! It was a little weird when they had us do a sing-along, but it was pretty fun overall.
That day we also walked up to Okazaki. We were looking for a bike shop, and we got lost. Really lost. Like, we ended up walking for three hours lost. We found the shop in the end, and bought what we needed, but man...that sucked. We ended up walking like 20 kilometers! We ate at a place called "Bikkuri Donkey." I love that name because it translates to "Surprised Donkey," which I find funny. It served hamburg steaks. I had a pineapple one that was pretty tasty. We had to walk home in the rain that night, which sucked. It took an hour! But, I didn't get sick or anything so it's all good.
The next day we had a mochi making party at a friend's house. My students went with us and we all had a great time. I've never seen a mochi making machine before. I thought it was a normal rice cooker at first...and then it started to rattle and it looked like it was having a seizure or something! I though it was broken! We had tons of food at the party, and we even made sushi!
The following weekend was the first weekend in April. Kota had a meeting regarding life for gaikokujins such as myself, and invited me to it to share my opinion of Kota. Unfortunately for me, the meeting took place in Japanese! I could barely follow what was being said! But, I did my best and I think I got my suggestions across. They said that I did well, which made me very happy.
Then there was the washing machine incident the following weekend. Let's just say...I'm an idiot and I made my neighbor hate me. All because I didn't know that Japanese washing machines aren't supposed to leak all over your balcony. >_> It was okay though. I bought her a present to make up for my stupidity, and nothing of hers was hurt.
The next day, Rhett and I went to Kappa Sushi. I really love that place. I think it's my favorite place here that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Between us we ate twenty plates of sushi. Then we went to a game center and Rhett won me a Nyanpire cell phone plushie in one try! I was soooo happy! I love Nyanpire!
Of course, we aren't finished cleaning. We started putting up wallpaper last weekend and filled more of the holes in the apartment. We're getting closer to being finished.
Last night was pretty cool too. Kevin showed up in Kota kinda randomly, and we hung out. It was tons of fun to see him. He's backpacking around Japan, so I'm sure I'll see him again before he leaves.
I'm really excited right now because tomorrow I'm going to Tokyo! We're leaving at like 6:30 in the morning, and we'll be there for five days. We're gonna ride our bikes all around Tokyo and see as many cool things as we can. And yes, that means Akihabara.
To prepare for Tokyo, we had to register Rhett's bike. The police here are sooooo nice! I wasn't sure what to do, so I went to the police box thinking that bike registration was a law enforcement thing. I was wrong, and they told me I need to go to a bike shop. They followed us there and made sure we got what we needed. I was so impressed by them.
One last thing: I GOT PROMOTED! I'm going to be teaching in the elementary schools starting in April. Wish me luck!
Hey Alexis.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your promotion!!!!
Take care and good luck!!!!