And it's time for my Sunday night post about my weekend! It was pretty busy and lots of fun. :D
On Friday I left work an hour early (thanks to some overtime I put in during the week) to go to a barbecue for new JETs near Tokyo hosted by the US Embassy! It was a good thing I left early, too, because even though I got to Roppongi Station around 5:30, I didn't actually find my way to the housing compound until after 6. -.-' (Though in my defense, it seemed like everybody had a hard time finding it.) It was pretty cool to be inside the compound, which as far as I know is where people who work at the embassy live, and which definitely felt like its own little world. The buildings were very distinctive and not like most Japanese apartments, and apparently they even had public trash cans on the streets (which you can't find in Japan), though I didn't notice any.
The barbecue itself was also great, though all the food was (homemade and delicious) Mexican food so technically I don't think you could call it a barbecue. I got to meet the US Ambassador to Japan, a lot more people from the Embassy, people from CLAIR, and a lot of other JETs from nearby prefectures, which was really, really awesome. Being able to get this sort of opportunity to meet people and see places that I wouldn't be able to otherwise, even living in Japan, is one of the things I really appreciate about being part of the JET program (not to sound like a promotional pamphlet or anything). But really. :)
And then on Saturday I went to the Central Library to do an English storytime for their reading festival. I showed up an hour in advance so that we could rehearse one more time and prepare, and then it was time to do it! It took place in the atrium of the library, which is actually really beautiful - there's a huge set of stairs that go up to the third floor of the building and a little fountain, along with some sculptures of books. There weren't too many people there at first but slowly the stairs (where they were sitting) started to fill up. So I did a quick self-introduction about myself and my hometown and then read through the three books we had picked. To be honest I doubt any of the kids had any idea what was going on, but they (and their parents) seemed pretty attentive, which was gratifying. And then we did Head Shoulders Knees and Toes together, which was pretty fun and got the kids excited again, and then English storytime was over. They were having me give the kids high-fives after getting stamps for their stamp rally when my coworkers came over! I had noticed Hirata-san there while I was reading, but I was completely surprised to see Satou-san and his family (even though he had warned me that they might come, haha). It was nice to meet his wife and son, who was asleep but adorable. And then Hirata-san and I went upstairs to check out their exhibit on sister cities (using stuff they had borrowed from our section) before parting ways.
After that I spent a little time shopping around Chiba Station before meeting up with a bunch of Chiba AJETs to go go-kart racing! I'd never done it before and it was a little bit harder than I expected (lots of sharp turns on the course), but lots of fun. I managed to improve my lap time every time (we managed to go three times) and ended up with a best time under thirty seconds, which I was pretty happy with. It was a little expensive (though 2000 yen cheaper for girls, maybe because they probably don't get as many), but I got to meet some more new people and hang out with some who I hadn't seen in a while, which is always great. After that we got some dinner and went to HUB again for a bit before heading home.
And then this morning, having finally successfully convinced Cory to go to Costco with me, I headed off to Makuhari! I got to the station a lot earlier than I needed to, so I spent some time enjoying coffee and a malasada (Hawaiian donut?) in the beautiful fall morning weather before getting on the wrong bus to Costco. Oops. But I got there, and after getting a membership (which is apparently valid worldwide) we were in Costco! It was pretty much exactly like Costco in the states, down to the food court options, which was awesome. I didn't actually end up buying very much, but I'll probably be back there sometime. :)
The weather was really nice and the inside was crowded, so Cory and I had Costco lunch outside, which was great. And then after that I headed off to Nitori, which is a 'home fashion store' to buy an extra futon for when my family comes next month! I also got a super cozy blanket for my now-functional kotatsu, which is super exciting. So today was a successful shopping day. :D
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
citizen's day
I'm happy to report that the past couple of days have been more eventful than last week, and it seems like this will continue through the weekend! Yesterday I went to Tokyo for Tokyo Swing Night again, and again, I had a great time! There were a few more people than when I went two weeks ago, including some first-time swing dancers, which is always exciting. It was definitely worth the bike ride back from the station afterward, which I did in pouring, cold autumn rain. I actually had to stop and wring out my hoodie and even my skirt before stepping into my apartment - even my feet were soaked despite my rain boots, because the rain just came in from the top! It was pretty crazy, but worth it. :)
Today was Chiba City's Citizens Day, in commemoration of Chiba City becoming a designated city. This year it's also the 20th anniversary, which is pretty exciting! Being a designated city means that the city has the same authority as a prefecture in certain areas and has a population over 500,000 (for the record, Chiba City's is 960,000, which I know because it comes up in almost every speech/statement by the mayor that I have to translate), and in 1992 Chiba City became the 12th designated city in Japan. I could probably go on about it for a bit (I learned a bunch about what it means to be a designated city/the history of Chiba City as one today), but I'll spare you the details for now.
Anyway, in celebration lots of places in the city like the zoo, Chiba City Art Museum, the Science Museum (and planetarium!), Kasori Shell Mounds Museum, etc had free admission, but since it was Thursday and I had to work I didn't get to take advantage of any of that. Instead though, for work I went to a ceremony where they gave awards to people of merit who have made contributions to the city. We sent invitations to our sister cities, which were accepted by the Paraguayan ambassador, the acting ambassador of the Philippines, and the American vice consul in Tokyo. So my job was to accompany the vice consul and interpret for him as needed.
So in the morning we went over to the Keiyo Bank Culture Plaza and met up with Gina to finish setting up the exhibit on our sister cities and to go over the schedule and routes for the afternoon. After that Gina and I went had a quick lunch before going back to wait for our guests to arrive. I ended up waiting outside with Satou-san for a while because the vice consul was running late, so we went straight into the ceremony without going to meet the mayor as planned.
The ceremony was very formal and pretty standard: a lot of speeches, recognizing everybody who received awards, and a commemorative photograph at the end. I found out that Chiba City has a song, which was pretty cool, and we also got to watch a video about the city's path to being a designated city and enjoy a short violin performance. I interpreted just the basic gist of the speeches and the video for the vice consul (not too many details because frankly, I don't think he cared too much), and after that we went upstairs so he could meet and exchange a few words with the mayor. As far as interpreting goes, I think I did a better job last time, to be honest, but I also think it mattered less since it was all mostly just formality.
And then we cleaned up and brought some of the items from the exhibit over to the Central Library for them to use in their display before going back to the office. It was a pretty long and tiring day, but exciting! I'll actually probably be seeing the vice consul again tomorrow at a barbecue that the US Embassy is having for new JETs in the area, which is pretty cool. Events like today are always super nerve-wracking but definitely interesting, so I hope that I keep getting to do them!
Today was Chiba City's Citizens Day, in commemoration of Chiba City becoming a designated city. This year it's also the 20th anniversary, which is pretty exciting! Being a designated city means that the city has the same authority as a prefecture in certain areas and has a population over 500,000 (for the record, Chiba City's is 960,000, which I know because it comes up in almost every speech/statement by the mayor that I have to translate), and in 1992 Chiba City became the 12th designated city in Japan. I could probably go on about it for a bit (I learned a bunch about what it means to be a designated city/the history of Chiba City as one today), but I'll spare you the details for now.
Anyway, in celebration lots of places in the city like the zoo, Chiba City Art Museum, the Science Museum (and planetarium!), Kasori Shell Mounds Museum, etc had free admission, but since it was Thursday and I had to work I didn't get to take advantage of any of that. Instead though, for work I went to a ceremony where they gave awards to people of merit who have made contributions to the city. We sent invitations to our sister cities, which were accepted by the Paraguayan ambassador, the acting ambassador of the Philippines, and the American vice consul in Tokyo. So my job was to accompany the vice consul and interpret for him as needed.
So in the morning we went over to the Keiyo Bank Culture Plaza and met up with Gina to finish setting up the exhibit on our sister cities and to go over the schedule and routes for the afternoon. After that Gina and I went had a quick lunch before going back to wait for our guests to arrive. I ended up waiting outside with Satou-san for a while because the vice consul was running late, so we went straight into the ceremony without going to meet the mayor as planned.
The ceremony was very formal and pretty standard: a lot of speeches, recognizing everybody who received awards, and a commemorative photograph at the end. I found out that Chiba City has a song, which was pretty cool, and we also got to watch a video about the city's path to being a designated city and enjoy a short violin performance. I interpreted just the basic gist of the speeches and the video for the vice consul (not too many details because frankly, I don't think he cared too much), and after that we went upstairs so he could meet and exchange a few words with the mayor. As far as interpreting goes, I think I did a better job last time, to be honest, but I also think it mattered less since it was all mostly just formality.
And then we cleaned up and brought some of the items from the exhibit over to the Central Library for them to use in their display before going back to the office. It was a pretty long and tiring day, but exciting! I'll actually probably be seeing the vice consul again tomorrow at a barbecue that the US Embassy is having for new JETs in the area, which is pretty cool. Events like today are always super nerve-wracking but definitely interesting, so I hope that I keep getting to do them!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
mid-october!
It's been a little bit since I last posted, but that's because there just hasn't been very much to report! I think this week has been the first one since I got here that I haven't had any plans to do anything during the week (though admittedly this is probably because I skipped frisbee practice on Tuesday, haha). So it's been a pretty low-key week. Most of this weekend was spent Skyping with family and friends, which was pretty great. :)
Yesterday I decided to go explore the Chiba University campus, which is relatively close to my apartment. I didn't actually go inside any buildings (though at some point I might go check out their library, even though I don't think I could check anything out), but it seemed like a pretty nice place, though mostly buildings (no Carleton Bald Spot equivalent, sadly). The area around the campus is also a lot more interesting than the area around my apartment (which really doesn't have anything) - lots of little stores, cafes, etc - so I feel like I may end up wandering around there more often!
After that, I met up with some friends for dinner in the city, which was fun. We went to a place with conveyor belt sushi, which I have actually not ever had before, so that was pretty exciting. After that we went to a bar (the same one we went to before Chiba Orientation actually, with the same group of people in fact) and just chatted for a while before heading home.
Today I went to take a look at the Saiwaicho culture festival (Saiwaicho being the name of the place where I live), which was taking place at the community center outside my apartment complex. I got to take a look inside the little library there for the first time, which is only open until 5 on weekdays and which I haven't gone to on a weekend before, so that was cool. The culture festival was mostly exhibits of artwork from the children in local schools and works from local clubs, like the patchwork and knitting clubs, which was cool. There were also some performances happening, though I didn't actually stay to watch any. It was a nice little community event. :)
Yesterday I decided to go explore the Chiba University campus, which is relatively close to my apartment. I didn't actually go inside any buildings (though at some point I might go check out their library, even though I don't think I could check anything out), but it seemed like a pretty nice place, though mostly buildings (no Carleton Bald Spot equivalent, sadly). The area around the campus is also a lot more interesting than the area around my apartment (which really doesn't have anything) - lots of little stores, cafes, etc - so I feel like I may end up wandering around there more often!
After that, I met up with some friends for dinner in the city, which was fun. We went to a place with conveyor belt sushi, which I have actually not ever had before, so that was pretty exciting. After that we went to a bar (the same one we went to before Chiba Orientation actually, with the same group of people in fact) and just chatted for a while before heading home.
Today I went to take a look at the Saiwaicho culture festival (Saiwaicho being the name of the place where I live), which was taking place at the community center outside my apartment complex. I got to take a look inside the little library there for the first time, which is only open until 5 on weekdays and which I haven't gone to on a weekend before, so that was cool. The culture festival was mostly exhibits of artwork from the children in local schools and works from local clubs, like the patchwork and knitting clubs, which was cool. There were also some performances happening, though I didn't actually stay to watch any. It was a nice little community event. :)
Monday, October 8, 2012
three-day weekend, take two!
And it's the end of another three-day weekend! For the most part it's been pretty chill, but after so many weekends running around from place to place it was actually pretty nice to just kind of stay in my area.
On Friday, I got to spend a little bit of time at CEATEC Japan, which is Asia's largest IT and technology exhibition. There were huge companies like Toyota, Sharp, Panasonic, etc, and even companies like Roomba. Chiba Prefecture and Chiba City also had a booth, to promote businesses coming to Chiba. It was pretty cool to wander around and look at all the products they were advertising (like appliances linked to smart phones, electric bikes, and smart phone interpreters) and see demonstrations. The Docomo booth had a demonstration with a little house robot, which was small and cute with a child's voice (though actually I found it a little bit creepy). We were only there for about two hours, which wasn't nearly enough to see all of it, but I was glad to have the chance to see such a huge exhibition - I've never been to that kind of business convention so I found it pretty interesting. Hirata-san treated me to lunch afterward, too, which was very nice of her!
Then after work I headed down to Makuhari! My WI-ALT friend James had invited me to a sake festival there, but by that time it was too late to get tickets, so Cory and I had dinner instead. We spent a ridiculously long time trying to find a place in Makuhari that wasn't a chain or too expensive (no hole-in-the-wall restaurants to be found), but finally settled on a Korean place that was pretty good. After that we wandered around AEON (a shopping center) for a little bit before meeting up with Ben and James. Cory left to find another friend (all the WI-ALTs had spent the day in Makuhari for training) and the three of us went to a little sushi place, though since I'd just eaten all I had there was beer and cheesecake (which don't go really together, for the record).
On Saturday I spent the morning buying stuff for my apartment (which was a recurring theme this weekend) - since my family is coming to visit next month (yay!) I figure I should make my apartment look a little bit more like I actually live there! After that I went to frisbee practice for a little bit before heading into the city to meet some other JETs and their friends. We went to an British pub called HUB for happy hour and just chatted for a while, before heading to an izakaya for some food. After that everybody else headed to a bar, but I figured I would just head home while I could still catch the bus, so I did. It was good to see the JETs I knew and meet some new people though!
Sunday morning was spent buying even more stuff for my apartment (like a chair! A super comfortable and not too expensive chair that has a back, which is awesome) and then I headed to Makuhari again for a baseball game! This time it didn't get rained out, thank goodness. I thought that there would only be four of us but a few more people showed up last minute, which was exciting. This time we had tickets for the cheering section, but since we were such a big group we could only find seats in the cheering section that was a little bit separated from the main section. But everybody still got up and cheered/jumped/sang when the Marines were on the field, so it was great. I was still impressed by how Cory knows (almost) all of the cheers, especially when I realized that they have individual songs that they sing for each player at bat! Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I would definitely go again sometime (though the season is basically over now, haha).
And then today was mostly spent chilling at home and Skyping with friends, though I did go grocery shopping for the first time in a while. I won a 200-yen voucher and a snack in a little raffle that the shopping center was having, which was fun. All in all, it's been a good weekend! :)
On Friday, I got to spend a little bit of time at CEATEC Japan, which is Asia's largest IT and technology exhibition. There were huge companies like Toyota, Sharp, Panasonic, etc, and even companies like Roomba. Chiba Prefecture and Chiba City also had a booth, to promote businesses coming to Chiba. It was pretty cool to wander around and look at all the products they were advertising (like appliances linked to smart phones, electric bikes, and smart phone interpreters) and see demonstrations. The Docomo booth had a demonstration with a little house robot, which was small and cute with a child's voice (though actually I found it a little bit creepy). We were only there for about two hours, which wasn't nearly enough to see all of it, but I was glad to have the chance to see such a huge exhibition - I've never been to that kind of business convention so I found it pretty interesting. Hirata-san treated me to lunch afterward, too, which was very nice of her!
Then after work I headed down to Makuhari! My WI-ALT friend James had invited me to a sake festival there, but by that time it was too late to get tickets, so Cory and I had dinner instead. We spent a ridiculously long time trying to find a place in Makuhari that wasn't a chain or too expensive (no hole-in-the-wall restaurants to be found), but finally settled on a Korean place that was pretty good. After that we wandered around AEON (a shopping center) for a little bit before meeting up with Ben and James. Cory left to find another friend (all the WI-ALTs had spent the day in Makuhari for training) and the three of us went to a little sushi place, though since I'd just eaten all I had there was beer and cheesecake (which don't go really together, for the record).
On Saturday I spent the morning buying stuff for my apartment (which was a recurring theme this weekend) - since my family is coming to visit next month (yay!) I figure I should make my apartment look a little bit more like I actually live there! After that I went to frisbee practice for a little bit before heading into the city to meet some other JETs and their friends. We went to an British pub called HUB for happy hour and just chatted for a while, before heading to an izakaya for some food. After that everybody else headed to a bar, but I figured I would just head home while I could still catch the bus, so I did. It was good to see the JETs I knew and meet some new people though!
Sunday morning was spent buying even more stuff for my apartment (like a chair! A super comfortable and not too expensive chair that has a back, which is awesome) and then I headed to Makuhari again for a baseball game! This time it didn't get rained out, thank goodness. I thought that there would only be four of us but a few more people showed up last minute, which was exciting. This time we had tickets for the cheering section, but since we were such a big group we could only find seats in the cheering section that was a little bit separated from the main section. But everybody still got up and cheered/jumped/sang when the Marines were on the field, so it was great. I was still impressed by how Cory knows (almost) all of the cheers, especially when I realized that they have individual songs that they sing for each player at bat! Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I would definitely go again sometime (though the season is basically over now, haha).
And then today was mostly spent chilling at home and Skyping with friends, though I did go grocery shopping for the first time in a while. I won a 200-yen voucher and a snack in a little raffle that the shopping center was having, which was fun. All in all, it's been a good weekend! :)
Thursday, October 4, 2012
otaki castle festival + tokyo swing night
It's October! Somehow I've passed the two-month mark in Japan, which feels like no time and a long time at the same time. In some ways I feel like I'm pretty settled, but for example I still don't own a chair so there's still a bit to go before I can say I'm all the way there, haha. But I'm definitely still feeling like things are new and exciting, so I'm doing my best to enjoy it while it lasts. :D
On Sunday I took a day trip down to the Otaki Castle Festival! I wrote about it here (and if you've already read it, I'm both surprised and impressed, haha). Like I said in the post, I liked how it was pretty unique as far as Japanese festivals go (which to be honest are pretty similar to each other and also all happen around the same time in the fall), so I'm glad I went, even though I spent most of the time wandering around by myself.
And then yesterday I made a trip into Tokyo for Tokyo Swing Night! I've been trying to find dance events nearby to go to, since I really miss dancing and also because I think it's a good way to meet new people, and TSN was pretty much the kind of thing I was looking for. It's not in Chiba City, unfortunately, but it only takes an hour to get to Tokyo and I figure getting to lindy hop for a couple of hours is worth the time/expense.
Anyway, there weren't too many people there last night, but that meant that I got to meet and talk to all of them, which I think is a good thing for the first time going to an event. Apparently they do usually do get a bigger crowd though, which is definitely exciting. It was really, really awesome to get to dance again (I think it's been about four months since I last lindy-hopped), especially because almost all the leads there were really good dancers. They meet every two weeks, plus occasional parties or bigger events with live bands and stuff, and I am thinking that this might become part of my regular schedule! Here's hoping I'll be able to find some other ballroom/Latin/swing dance events and make dancing a consistent part of my life again. :D
On Sunday I took a day trip down to the Otaki Castle Festival! I wrote about it here (and if you've already read it, I'm both surprised and impressed, haha). Like I said in the post, I liked how it was pretty unique as far as Japanese festivals go (which to be honest are pretty similar to each other and also all happen around the same time in the fall), so I'm glad I went, even though I spent most of the time wandering around by myself.
And then yesterday I made a trip into Tokyo for Tokyo Swing Night! I've been trying to find dance events nearby to go to, since I really miss dancing and also because I think it's a good way to meet new people, and TSN was pretty much the kind of thing I was looking for. It's not in Chiba City, unfortunately, but it only takes an hour to get to Tokyo and I figure getting to lindy hop for a couple of hours is worth the time/expense.
Anyway, there weren't too many people there last night, but that meant that I got to meet and talk to all of them, which I think is a good thing for the first time going to an event. Apparently they do usually do get a bigger crowd though, which is definitely exciting. It was really, really awesome to get to dance again (I think it's been about four months since I last lindy-hopped), especially because almost all the leads there were really good dancers. They meet every two weeks, plus occasional parties or bigger events with live bands and stuff, and I am thinking that this might become part of my regular schedule! Here's hoping I'll be able to find some other ballroom/Latin/swing dance events and make dancing a consistent part of my life again. :D
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
otaki castle festival
This Sunday I headed down to Otaki for the Otaki Castle Festival! A JET friend was participating in the parade, and the promise of Mexicans, ninjas, and horses was impossible to resist. :D
So to get there I went down to Ohara Station again, where I had actually been just a week before (it felt a little strange to be back there so soon), and then I transferred to the Isumi Railway! This was my first time taking a train that wasn't run by a big company like JR, and actually I really liked it. It was interesting because the way the tickets worked felt more like being on a bus than on a train - instead of just tapping in and out with my Suica, I first bought a ticket from a vending machine (I love vending machines that give out tickets, for some reason) and then had to make sure I took a ticket once I got on the train to mark where I had gotten on, before depositing them both in a little box as I got off. Which is how the buses around me work if you don't have a Suica, so it was interesting doing it on a train. Plus, the railway is Moomin-themed! (Wikipedia about them here). I honestly have no idea why it's Moomin-themed, but with Moomin decorations in the train cars and even some Moomin figures along a lake we passed by, it definitely makes the train really charming and cute.
Then when I got off the train, after being greeted by somebody in a traditional outfit (I think a princess one? Not really sure), I did my first Japanese raffle (or lottery? I'm not sure what to call it). There's a little box with lots of different colored balls in it, and you turn the handle and rotate it until a ball comes out, and the color determines your prize. I just got the default prize (a bottle of sports drink), which wasn't very surprising (though the person in front of me got the grand prize!), but it was pretty fun to try. :)
I wasn't really sure where to go after that (they did give me a map but I am bad at those...) so I just kind of followed everybody else who was around until reaching the elementary school, which was the main festival area, complete with lots of festival food stalls and a stage! It was just about lunchtime so I got something to eat and listened to a performance by a high school band before deciding to head to the castle (it was the Otaki Castle Festival, after all).
It turned out the castle was a little over a kilometer away, but the way there went by a really picturesque river with lots of trees, which is not something you can really see in the city (or at least not where I've been). It was also apparently called Mexican Street (or something like that) - when I asked my friend later about the connection with Mexico, apparently way back when a Mexican ship was shipwrecked on a beach nearby, and the people in Otaki helped them out. Nobody else in Japan knew about it until later some dignitaries from Spain visiting another city mentioned it, and then when they looked it up in the town records they found out it was true! Which is a pretty cool story, I think.
So next I reached the castle and found a lot of people in armor! There were even people playing kotos (I think) in kimonos in the background, which was pretty cool. I wandered around for a little bit but decided to head back to the elementary school to watch the opening ceremony for the parade, instead of heading back into the castle. When I got back, the mikoshi started to come in! I'm always impressed at how much energy they have and how much they heave them up and down, especially the women (who also look the most bad-ass, I think).
After that, the ceremony started, with somebody coming in on a horse (in armor!), which was pretty cool. I was right in front of the crowd so I had a great view, which was lucky since normally I am much too short to see anything (even in Japan, haha). Then all the parade members started coming in. There were lots of elementary schoolers, looking adorable in armor and kimonos, along with my JET friend! There were also groups of people who from what I understood made their own armor, which was really incredible - I definitely couldn't tell that they were hand-made. Other notable people include some prinesses, some more people on horseback, and a group in traditional Mexican outfits (sombreros and all). They all marched in and then the ceremony started, with some speeches and the debut of the new mascot, Otakki, who I had actually read about in a newspaper before coming. They also staged a fight on stage and had a demonstration with some guns, which was pretty cool! And then the parade started, though I decided not to follow them and instead just kind of chilled in the festival area watching the mikoshi get carried around again (they were still there) because I was lazy. :P
After the parade came back (I went out a little bit onto the parade path on their way back and was a little amused at how exhausted everybody seemed, though I certainly can't blame them), I met up with my JET friend and another English teacher for dinner! The timing was pretty perfect because right after they had gotten back to the festival area, the typhoon that was predicted for the day showed up and it started to rain. I did feel bad for everybody carrying the mikoshi, though, because they were still out in the rain long after everybody in the parade went home. Anyway, we had dinner at a little cafe where they go pretty regularly, apparently, and I finally got to eat tonkatsu, which I've been craving for a while (but have been too lazy to make).
After that I managed to make it home safely despite the typhoon (which luckily seemed to be letting up right as I was leaving) and the delayed/cancelled trains it caused. The Otaki Castle Festival was definitely different from all the other festivals I've been to in Japan, so I'm really glad that I went! If I go again next year I think I'll definitely want to go take a look at the castle, too.
So to get there I went down to Ohara Station again, where I had actually been just a week before (it felt a little strange to be back there so soon), and then I transferred to the Isumi Railway! This was my first time taking a train that wasn't run by a big company like JR, and actually I really liked it. It was interesting because the way the tickets worked felt more like being on a bus than on a train - instead of just tapping in and out with my Suica, I first bought a ticket from a vending machine (I love vending machines that give out tickets, for some reason) and then had to make sure I took a ticket once I got on the train to mark where I had gotten on, before depositing them both in a little box as I got off. Which is how the buses around me work if you don't have a Suica, so it was interesting doing it on a train. Plus, the railway is Moomin-themed! (Wikipedia about them here). I honestly have no idea why it's Moomin-themed, but with Moomin decorations in the train cars and even some Moomin figures along a lake we passed by, it definitely makes the train really charming and cute.
Then when I got off the train, after being greeted by somebody in a traditional outfit (I think a princess one? Not really sure), I did my first Japanese raffle (or lottery? I'm not sure what to call it). There's a little box with lots of different colored balls in it, and you turn the handle and rotate it until a ball comes out, and the color determines your prize. I just got the default prize (a bottle of sports drink), which wasn't very surprising (though the person in front of me got the grand prize!), but it was pretty fun to try. :)
I wasn't really sure where to go after that (they did give me a map but I am bad at those...) so I just kind of followed everybody else who was around until reaching the elementary school, which was the main festival area, complete with lots of festival food stalls and a stage! It was just about lunchtime so I got something to eat and listened to a performance by a high school band before deciding to head to the castle (it was the Otaki Castle Festival, after all).
It turned out the castle was a little over a kilometer away, but the way there went by a really picturesque river with lots of trees, which is not something you can really see in the city (or at least not where I've been). It was also apparently called Mexican Street (or something like that) - when I asked my friend later about the connection with Mexico, apparently way back when a Mexican ship was shipwrecked on a beach nearby, and the people in Otaki helped them out. Nobody else in Japan knew about it until later some dignitaries from Spain visiting another city mentioned it, and then when they looked it up in the town records they found out it was true! Which is a pretty cool story, I think.
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| Gorgeous! |
So next I reached the castle and found a lot of people in armor! There were even people playing kotos (I think) in kimonos in the background, which was pretty cool. I wandered around for a little bit but decided to head back to the elementary school to watch the opening ceremony for the parade, instead of heading back into the castle. When I got back, the mikoshi started to come in! I'm always impressed at how much energy they have and how much they heave them up and down, especially the women (who also look the most bad-ass, I think).
After that, the ceremony started, with somebody coming in on a horse (in armor!), which was pretty cool. I was right in front of the crowd so I had a great view, which was lucky since normally I am much too short to see anything (even in Japan, haha). Then all the parade members started coming in. There were lots of elementary schoolers, looking adorable in armor and kimonos, along with my JET friend! There were also groups of people who from what I understood made their own armor, which was really incredible - I definitely couldn't tell that they were hand-made. Other notable people include some prinesses, some more people on horseback, and a group in traditional Mexican outfits (sombreros and all). They all marched in and then the ceremony started, with some speeches and the debut of the new mascot, Otakki, who I had actually read about in a newspaper before coming. They also staged a fight on stage and had a demonstration with some guns, which was pretty cool! And then the parade started, though I decided not to follow them and instead just kind of chilled in the festival area watching the mikoshi get carried around again (they were still there) because I was lazy. :P
After the parade came back (I went out a little bit onto the parade path on their way back and was a little amused at how exhausted everybody seemed, though I certainly can't blame them), I met up with my JET friend and another English teacher for dinner! The timing was pretty perfect because right after they had gotten back to the festival area, the typhoon that was predicted for the day showed up and it started to rain. I did feel bad for everybody carrying the mikoshi, though, because they were still out in the rain long after everybody in the parade went home. Anyway, we had dinner at a little cafe where they go pretty regularly, apparently, and I finally got to eat tonkatsu, which I've been craving for a while (but have been too lazy to make).
After that I managed to make it home safely despite the typhoon (which luckily seemed to be letting up right as I was leaving) and the delayed/cancelled trains it caused. The Otaki Castle Festival was definitely different from all the other festivals I've been to in Japan, so I'm really glad that I went! If I go again next year I think I'll definitely want to go take a look at the castle, too.
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