Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Hello Autumn!!!

Gorgeous weather on Tokyo Bay~.
Finally the deathly humid weather is over and the past week has been wonderful and dry and COOL! In celebration of the refreshing autumn weather, I just want to share some photos I took the other day when I went to Gake Kannon in Tateyama! The lovely view in the photo above was taken from Gake Kannon.

Gake Kannon is the red building to the left.
Gake Kannon (officially called Daifukuji) is a temple built - just as you see it, on the side of an almost totally vertical cliff. Gake Kannon - and its surroundings! - are also strikingly photogenic.

I have a thing for taking pictures of these kinds of signs pointing places~.

But first, you have to make your way up this! No pain, no gain.
近???
 I honestly have no idea what this is supposed to be - does anyone know? It was carved into the side of the cliff, and I was curious so I took a photo.

Tuuuurtle! So cute!
Also built directly into the cliff?
I wonder if people were allowed in here before?
Happy carving thing!!! This is a tengu(?) I think? It looks like a snake to me...
And...one last lovely view of the Tateyama area!
Gake Kannon was a very nice, close getaway! This is a really lovely place to just enjoy the view and relax. The day I took the photos it was still pretty humid, but perhaps now that the weather is a little drier, maybe you can see even further?

Sunday, September 25, 2011

A Little R&R.

Today I'm switching gears from my usual posts. In between work and lots of other chores that needed to be taken care of, I was finally able to set aside some time for some good R&R.

Yay!! Playdate!
After getting our hair done (I was in desperate need of a recoloring), we grabbed lunch at one of our Chiba City favorites, Village Vanguard! Village Vanguard is not only one of the best bookstores ever, it also runs a chain of restaurants serving huge, juicy, amazingly delicious hamburgers.

(front) 温玉タコライス, (back) アボカドタコライス
Yes, their main menu is the hamburgers, but actually every time I go here I pretty much order this <3 Taco rice!!! The name says it all. It's taco filling - ground beef seasoned with taco spice, tomato, greens, and cheese (the bacon and egg is extra) - all on top of rice. Love love love this stuff!

We also just noticed that they had onion rings, and added that to our meal. This place is definitely great if you ever have a craving for a good American(?) meal. Make sure you go on an empty stomach!

The outside of the restaurant. It's located on the top floor of PARCO, a department store type place in Chiba and a little over a 5 minute walk from Chiba Station.

(left) Soy Matcha Frappuccino, (right) Apple Crumble Frappuccino
After looking around all the shops, we stopped for a break at Starbucks. Okay, once again not very Japan-like perhaps. In my defense, I rarely go to Starbucks here in Japan. We went because I'd had the Apple Crumble Latte a couple days ago, and wanted to share its deliciousness with someone else. This time I got the frappuccino version and it wasn't as good, but it was still nice.

Heehee. Simply because I really enjoy this photo.
Handful of LOVE rabbits!!!
One of our last stops for the day was the arcade! Kicchan helped me win this bunch of LOVE rabbits, which I really like because of their strange/dumb faces.

Trying to win a Gloomy Bear caught in a bear trap. I just noticed that cat poster in the corner, it's kinda creepy...

I tried reaaaaaaally hard not to buy stuff, I really did! I did okay, until I saw these babies. I love strapped heels because they won't fall off (lately my heels have the tendency to slip off while I'm walking and all of the sudden I am shoeless...maybe I walk weird??). If only they had them in dark blue..love the tan/orange color though! They were only 3,000 yen for both pairs~.

Okay! Enough randomness. Japan is finally transitioning into fall and the weather is absolutely wonderful~. A little more and soon I'll be able to whip out my trench coat!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Tateyama Yawatanmachi (Awa Kokushisai) Festival.


Giant sign that reads "Awa Kokushisai," at Tsurugaya Hachiman Shrine.
So...I reaaaally love matsuri, or festivals. I can't quite put it into words why I love them so much! I've met a lot of Japanese people who are very "meh" about festivals, while there are others who are so crazy about them that the festival is bigger than any other annual event, like Christmas or New Years or birthdays.

This past weekend was my first time visiting the Yawatanmachi festival - officially called the Awa Kokushisai festival. A friend once told me「館山のお祭りは、とにかくすごいんだよ」= "Tateyama's festival is epic!"...and now I know why (as depicted in the video at the very end of ).

Anyway, allow me to share my love of festivals through a few more photos, as well as a video:

One of the few times of the year that this area is totally packed with people.
One of the stall things along this road was a haunted house...it was amusing to walk by and hear all the little kids screaming.
This is my lame attempt at trying to be artistic at capturing the mikoshi.
A slightly better shot of the mikoshi. I'm not sure what is going on here, but it looks like the mikoshi are all shoved towards the shrine multiple times. I wonder if it's some sort of prayer/ritual? I have to research more.
I also went to see the gathered dashi floats at JR Tateyama Station. The ground level was overflowing with people, but my friend and I were able to find this awesome balcony area you can look down on everything from.

And last but most certainly not least, the promised video of mikoshi footage! Watch, and be amazed by it's epicness.


They heave it from side to side! If you've never carried a mikoshi before, that might not mean so much, but these things tend to weigh 500-700 pounds. Maybe more. It is painful enough to carry it on your shoulder...imagine trying to heave it up and down like the people here. When it swings down, I can't understand how the people don't get horribly crushed under the sheer weight and pressure.

Next up on my matsuri schedule is the infamous Ohara Hadaka (yes "Naked") Festival!

Don't worry, the men aren't actually naked...They just wear cloth underwear/fundoshi, like what sumo wrestlers wear. I am still hoping to go, although Typhoon No. 15 seems rather set on ruining my plans.

Autumn is definitely omatsuri season!!!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tokyo Game Show 2011.


Over the weekend,  Tokyo Game Show 2011 was held at Makuhari Messe, here in Chiba. After all these years, it was my first time going...and for work, nonetheless, despite being a huge closet gaming addict~.

I got there at the very end of the day, so I was only able to run through quickly and snap some photos here and there. I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get to make it to the SQUARE-ENIX booth...probably the only booth I actually wanted to see...but then again, who am I kidding? I know I'll buy their games anyway. :D It was cool just to be able to go and be there, since I'd only really "seen" TGS in gaming magazines when I was a student.

Anyway...let me share some of the other photos I took! Nothing special, but just so that you can see what it's like:

This is the area right through the entrance. Makuhari Messe is just so HUGE! To think that this was just one hall, and that there is waaaaay more to the left (can't fit it into a single photo), plus a couple other halls that I couldn't get to because it took me so long just to walk across this one hall.

On another note, straight ahead was the merchandise corner! There was a booth for Square merchandise, but the line was overly long so I decided not to queue up. Sadness.

This is the area to the left of the previous photo. There's still waaaaay more booths behind these two.

Konami booth. Now that I think about it, I should have tried to see if there was anything about a new Suikoden - but I guess if there was, it would have been advertised pretty well here too.

In the merchandise corner, there was a stall just for Square music!!! So awesome! It took a lot of will power to keep away from here...

And...last but not least, what I believe was a theater playing the trailer for the upcoming Biohazard game for the 3DS! I could never play Resident Evil because I am too much of a scaredy cat, but I really enjoy the outside of this theater??? It really looks like a haunted house or something!


Anyway, just a short and simple post for today, but after I get my photos in a little better order, I'll post about the work/tour that took me to TGS as well as the Yawatanmachi festival in Tateyama, which I went to see the next day. Particularly to everyone in Japan - have a good Silver Week!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

~Kamogawa Godosai Festival 2011~「ぎゅっとやらっせーよ」


The phrase in the title is a gem from the Boshu dialect...if you convert it into standard Japanese, it means something like「力いっぱいやってください」...apparently most commonly used when everyone gets together for a drink, but it can be used to refer to anything FUN!

It doesn't look heavy at all...until you think about just how many people are actually supporting its weight with looks of intense pain (and joy?) on their faces.
The second Saturday and Sunday of September is always the 鴨川合同祭, or Kamogawa Godosai Festival. I happened to? join the festivities two years ago for work, and after that time I was totally HOOKED and since then I look forward to the festival as much as I look forward to my birthday and Christmas. Crazy!!!

Anyway, I'll attempt to explain how the festival works. I didn't take very many photos this year (I was having WAY too much fun), so photos from previous years will be mixed in here and there. Anyway...onto the fun!

Most people look like they're gonna pass out, but the guy with a lavender towel wrapped around his head looks so HAPPY!
The festival is technically a really local thing. Generally only people who have lived in that area all their lives, and their parents, and their parents before them, etc. really get to join the festival. Like I mentioned before, I got a taste of the festival during work, and once one of my coworkers heard how much I loved it, they invited me to join on my own...this was my third year joining the festival, and it was amazing this year too!!!

Dashi floats gathered in front of Awa-Kamogawa Station.
These are the 山車 (dashi) floats. Generally the children are in charge of them, pulling them around town as 4-5 kids ride inside the dashi and play the taiko drums while 1-2 people play the matsuri flute alongside them. These are fun to watch (the kids always look like they're having so much fun!!!) but this isn't what I'm all about.

Poor people on the right side of the mikoshi are getting horribly crushed...
This is my love! The 御神輿, or mikoshi...commonly translated as "portable shrine." Sounds weird if you've never heard of it before, but I guess it really is that. Basically during the course of the festival, the god of the shrine resides inside this temporary habitat as the mikoshi bearers parade it around town, often heaving it up/down/around to "wake up" the god. Anyway, at the Kamogawa Godosai Festival, I help carry the mikoshi from Hie Shrine, one of the 5 mikoshi that participate in this festival.


Here's the "process" of carrying the mikoshi - from what I've observed while carrying the mikoshi, and from info I pieced together after asking others:
  1. Someone calls the mikoshi bearers to standby, and everyone takes their places around the mikoshi.
  2. Someone will sing kiyari, which are call-and-response songs handed down within each shrine. I've only really listened to the kiyari in Kamogawa as well as in Amatsu (another area of Kamogawa) - while I can't decipher exactly what they're singing about, the songs do sound pretty similar - the responses were a bit different.
  3. During the first kiyari, eventually there will be a cue in the lyrics of the song that tells everyone to lift up and begin carrying the mikoshi. Start to slowly proceed towards the next resting point.
  4. In addition to the people carrying the shrine, there are people who walk along with the shrine to make sure it doesn't run into anything (really necessary for narrow streets!) and will push the mikoshi back into place if needed.
  5. While proceeding to the next point, there will be various cues in the song lyrics...generally there are two vocal call and responses, and on the third "call and response," the carriers clap their free hand on the poles...and on the actual cue, everyone will heaving the mikoshi up and down. Hie Shrine is pushed UP, towards the sky. I know at least two of the other mikoshi I saw are heaved DOWN - to symbolize like the ocean...those mikoshi were reaaally hardcore because the carriers were doing some crazy squats that looked painful.
  6. Step #5 can be repeated however many times between the departure point and the next place. Once reaching the next resting point, the shrine will be heaved up and down again, and then immediately everyone will raise the mikoshi above their heads. This is reaaaaally painful because you can only really rely on your arm strength for this part. Then, they'll toss the mikoshi around in that position as well!
  7. Generally after raising the shrine up all the way once, they will bring in a stand to rest the mikoshi on and everyone will take break. But if it's a special "showdown" point, (when you run into other mikoshi, etc.) you might continue heaving the mikoshi up and down until both sides or satisfied (or one side gives up)...!!!
  8. Breaks are generally taken in front of local businesses, who supply the carriers with drinks (READ: endless endless ALCOHOL!) and food.
  9. Back to step #1, and REPEAT!
I cannot stress enough how painful this part is. Not only are you carrying something extremely heavy with just your arms, you have to stay in this position for 3-5 minutes at a time...and sometimes they repeat this part over and over again. My arms always go numb towards the end of this part...

Other advice for carrying the mikoshi:
  • When carrying the mikoshi, make sure that your shoulder is glued to the pole, because when they start jostling it, it'll HURT a lot more if you don't.
  • Stick to the outside!!! On rare occasions, accidents do happen. This year, I saw a man get crushed under the mikoshi when I guess the people carrying it couldn't handle the weight anymore. This guy was in the middle, and he got stuck. Somehow, he got up right away and started carrying the mikoshi again.
And then some other random photos:

From last year, since I don't actually have any pictures of me carrying the mikoshi this year.
Bringing out the king of the festival.
This is the 水交團 ("Suikodan"), which is not a mikoshi - it's something called a 担ぎ屋台 (katsugi-yatai). The Suikodan's hometurf is the Kaisuka District - an area filled with fishermen, and the people here are SERIOUSLY hardcore about the festival!

The Suikodan at night.
 Some facts about the Suikodan: it is so awesome and so dangerous that women have been barred from carrying it. It weighs a ton - literally. And on top of that, 5-6 grown men playing the taiko drums ride in the Suikodan as it's getting carried around (pictured below).


Anyway, because the Suikodan isn't a mikoshi, and therefore does not have a god in it, they are REALLY rough with it. Like, instead of setting it down, they literally just all DROP it, and the people carrying it have to know the timing to let go AND to get out of the way ASAP unless they want to get horribly crushed. I wish I'd taken a video of it! It's really amazing/terrifying to see. I once saw one of the taiko drummers fall out as they dropped it...but apparently the drumming cannot stop at all costs, so I think someone else just leapt over and starting playing in his stead without anyone actually checking to see if he was okay (perhaps because it's so common to see someone fall out?).

The end of the first day.
On the first day of the festival, all of the dashi and mikoshi gather together in a single place - it's one of the highlights of the festival, since you can see all of them at once. And it's amazing to see that many people gathered in one place in Kamogawa...anyway, this is really the end of the night, when the mikoshi have been stored in the 御旅所/御仮屋, or "temporary resting place" until the next day, when the mikoshi will be paraded around town again until late at night when they all return to their respective shrines.

And last but not least, some personal photos:

With a couple of my best girlfriends from Kamogawa. I added this photo in because I am a huge narcissist and I want to show off my festival outfit.
Team Hie~! These are all people I worked with at Kamogawa City Hall...really miss everyone!

Anyway, I'll be joining another festival in Kamogawa at the very beginning of October, until I have to put away my festival outfit again until next year (assuming I am still here...).  Slightly off topic, but I was highly amused by how my friend referred to my festival outfit as my "colorful ninja clothes." Which, now that I think about it, they kinda really do look like ninja clothes.

In any case...many more adventures coming up, so stay tuned!

Monday, September 12, 2011

地引き網 fishing in Kamogawa.

It all started on a bright and early, HOT morning at Futama Beach in Kamogawa.
Here we were - about 50 people gathered to play tug-of-war with the ocean!
Here's kinda what jibiki-ami fishing is all about:

Beforehand, fishermen cast out a giant fishing net into the sea by boat. Then, you need a TON of people to pull the net to shore. You have two teams pulling in each side of the net simultaneously. You start on opposite ends of the beach, and gradually come together to narrow the net and trap the fish. It's tricky because you have to be subtle...you can't pull the net in too fast either, or you'll scare the fish away.

 Even with this many people, the net was reaaaaally heavy. Add the intense summer heat and blinding glare of the ocean, it was a slightly painful experience - but I think this helped build a sense of camaraderie amongst everyone there. The girls at the front of this line in this photo started shouting よいしょー、よいしょー at the top of their lungs, which then in turn really seemed to help motivate and energize everyone else to keep pulling.

If you look reaaaaaally closely, you can see three black round floats bobbing around (around the center left of the photo). These help to tell how far the net is...I can't remember how much distance each one represents though :/

Finally!!! A part of the net has emerged.
Almost there...!!!
Goal!

Our catch for the day.
See the stingray (I think it's a stingray)??? There were at least 3 of them in there.
Before the catch is transferred to buckets, etc. to be split up, the fishermen return seaweed/unwanted fish, etc. to the sea. This part is NOT for amateurs, because if you accidentally pick up something that stings...well, that probably won't end very nicely. I am pretty impressed with this dude with the blue towel wrapped around his head - see how he is just ready to flight that giant stingray back in the water? That's exactly what he proceeded to do.

Playing around with the catch...here's a fugu (pufferfish)!
Okay. They totally told us what kind of fish this was and I totally forgot its name already :/
My dear friend ripping an urume (according to google, a "round herring big-eyed sardine") apart by hand at that very spot for me to eat. Talk about fresh sashimi! It was really delicious...
The catch is sorted into buckets, and now everyone splits the spoils amongst themselves! We were surprisingly successful, so each person was able to take home about 30 fish.


Aaaaand so concludes jibiki-ami fishing! This was just the start though...I had a pretty eventful weekend, so hopefully I'll get to post about the rest of it soon. Have a good week, and particularly to my fellow residents of Japan - stay cool! The heat looks like it'll still be continuing for a bit longer.