Sayonara, Part II

And a later date it is. The whole point of my story is now moot. I was trying to explain how my return tickets were for different days. I was to fly out of Miyazaki on August 13 and then out of Nagoya on the 16th. But, as it turns out, I was able to get a flight back to the states right away, so no dillydallying in Nagoya for me – thank goodness!

I suppose that wraps up my trip to Japan. My last week was spent hanging out in Miyakonojo and taking some daytrips with Luke. This adventure culminated in the biggest festival of the year, the Bonchi Matsuri (they must have known I was leaving!). For such an occasion, Luke and I decided to wear traditional Japanese clothing – a yukata, or summer kimono, for me, and a jimbe for Luke.

I was fitted for a yukata at a local kimono shop with some help from Yasue. After trying on a few different patterns, I settled on a dark red robe covered in sakura, or cherry blossoms, and a marigold obi belt.

In preparation for the festival, I put my hair up, as you’re traditionally supposed to do, and left plenty of time to get dressed. I thought it would take me a while to arrange the yukata and conquer the challenge of tying the obi belt, but I managed fine, and we were off to the matsuri.

Luke arranged for us to dance in the parade with the Miyakonojo International Association. We had about 10 minutes to learn the two dances, which no one in the group was really able to pick up. It involved a fan, fancy footwork and a bunch of clapping. I wasn’t too worried, though, as we were in a sea of people, so no one would notice if we were out of step.

I attempted to dance for a little while, but eventually resorted to just sort of walking in the back while fanning myself, running off to the side, every now and then, to snap a photo of Luke looking totally perplexed as he tried to follow the dance leader.

After the parade, we sampled all the festival food and watched performances and drumming in the streets. It was a fantastic way to cap off my trip.

On Sunday, I bought a few last minute souvenirs and packed up before heading out for my last taste of real Japanese sushi – for a while anyway.

But no worries, I think there is more Japan in my future – hopefully sooner than later.

Matsuri or Octopus on a Stick

The Japanese festival experience is actually quite similar to a fair or summer celebration in the States. There’s dancing, performances, food, games, etc. Pretty typical festival stuff, with just a few minor differences: you’ve probably had a corn dog, right? Or some other meat on a stick? Well, they’ve got the same kind of thing here, but instead of an overly processed pork product, it’s octopus. That’s right, folks. Octopus on a stick. And people just go around eating this stuff like we would eat a hot dog.

I, after careful consideration, opted for the tamer, deep fried octopus ball. This festival fare is bite-size chunks of octopus dropped into a deep fryer and covered in a sauce and some cabbage-like garnish. Delish!

Our foray into matsuri culture did not stop at the food. We enjoyed a traditional fan dance, taiko drumming and the ritual shrine procession. Definitely check out the pictures to see the huge taiko drum that almost ran over me as I was trying to get a photo.

My favorite part of the matsuri? I could actually see everything that was happening! At 5’8”, I was on the taller side of festival-goers and very few people blocked my view. Pretty cool coming from America where there’s always some tall guy standing in front of you.