The Chichibu Night Festival

After a rushed attempt to make it to this festival a few years back, when I was living and working somewhere different to now, I finally got to properly enjoy the Chichibu Yomatsuri this year. What makes coming to this festival difficult is that it's always held on the same dates each year, whether it's a weekday or weekend, and it's a 1-2 hours train trip just to get there. So, with some lovely companions, we oohed and aahed at the fireworks and the floats as we filled our stomachs with local brews and grub.

Kimchi, Horses & Arrows

It was a pretty grey day for an outdoor event, but that didn't stop us from heading down to Koma City in Saitama Prefecture, a city with deep Korean connections that stem from centuries back, to watch a Korea-Japan joint-friendly horseback archery competition.

We got to try our hand at the Japanese-style of short bow archery (shihan mato kyudo 四半的弓道), and the U.K. beat America with straight wins at all three matches ;) The food stalls offered some local specialities, including kimchi nabe udon (thick white noodles served in a broth), I had mine with a cup of hot amazake (a sweet fermented rice drink)... which very much hit the spot on this chilly day!

Got lost afterwards, but getting lost is all part of the fun and the adventure!

Teachers in Gunma

Once Japanese teachers let loose, they really let loose. Since it was a hotspring trip, I had thought it was going to be a relaxing trip to loosen the muscles and take a breather from work. How wrong I was. A staff trip consists of breaking out the alcohol as soon as the shuttle bus hits the road, and drinking whilst scoffing snacks and playing games, all the way to the hotel.

I had had a bad night's sleep the night before, and was hoping to catch up on sleep on the bus, but as it was, I just had to hope for an early night in. We arrived at the hotel with enough time to allow my lady colleagues a quick 15-minute dash to the baths before dinner. Dinner was a laidback affair with a game show afterwards, organised by the younger teachers for our entertainment. Japanese parties usually consist of several stages, and this evening was no different, with an hour's karaoke singing to follow until past 11pm. And because the purpose of the trip was hotsprings, we were allowed some time to make use of them, but "we must be at room # by midnight for drinks". And so I found myself sitting in room # sipping sake and nibbling fried squid and trying to make friendly conversation, all whilst trying not to nod off. By 1:30am, I had to plead tiredness, and left to finally, thankfully, crawl into my futon. An hour later, I heard my roommates, all ladies in their 50s, return tipsily to our room... before I drifted off again... to wake up to the sound of them rustling around at 5:30 in the morning to go to the baths... gosh, they have a lot of energy!

The next day was spent, sightseeing Ikaho, where we were based; played archery and watched sheep at a farm theme park; ate onsen manjuu (aka. steamed hotspring buns) and an L-size serving of Mizusawa udon; followed by a trip to a souvenir shop before heading back home. Well, not quite home yet, I had promised to attend a friend's SGI Halloween party, but after that, I was finally able to make it back home, exhausted but happy.

Meditation & Mountains

ひさしぶりのソロハイキングをしました！ 太陽寺から雲取山に行って鴨沢までのコースです。 昨日、太陽寺に泊まって、宿坊の体験をしました。 写経したり、読経したり、座禅したり、精進料理をたべたりして、面白かったです！
It's been a heck of a while since my last solo hike, and what perfect weather I had for it for my route from Taiyouji to Kamosawa, via Kumotoriyama. I'd stayed at Taiyouji the previous night to do a temple stay experience, where I did sutra writing and chanting, zazen meditation (which all require me to sit in leg-numbing seiza), and had some seriously beyond yummy buddhist fare.

[The view, as I descend from the peak. I wanted to see how fast I was, and at the end, I was delighted to discover that I had shaved a third off map time!!]

A Kimono with Long Sleeves

Furisode are formal kimono with long sleeves, and are worn by unmarried women in Japan. I had the opportunity to try one on, and there are so many layers, it takes a couple of hours to put the whole thing on!

My Last Sports Day

It's June, so it's that time of the year again, where kids compete against each other to earn points for their team. This year's Sports Day also happened to be my last with the school, and the city, as my five years with the JET Programme is drawing to an end. So I felt a little emotional today, but Sports Days in Japan are grand events, and are always enjoyable to watch.

Flowers Galore Hike

For my hiking club, I had organised a hike in the Chichibu area in Saitama to check out the spring flowers, namely the moss pinks, that had come into bloom. It was about a 6-hour hike, with the following itinerary:

Ashigakubo Station - Mountain Flower Road - Mt. Hinata - Bokuunji Temple - Gokadou Hall - Daijiji Temple - Hitsujiyama Park - Chichibu Station.

The sun was blazing, but everyone was in good spirits with the lovely company we were in and the fresh and vibrant scenery we were seeing as we going along the trail. We also got to experience "osettai", hospitality of the local people towards pilgrims and travellers. We were pleasantly surprised to see an old lady, a complete stranger, coming over to us, and pressing homemade sakuramochi and kashiwamochi, traditional Japanese sweets, into our hands. Later on, an old couple invited us into their patio for refreshments and a friendly chat; it was even of a surprise to our Japanese companions to experience such kindness and generosity in Japan.

Hanami on Mt. Takao

From Takaosanguchi Station, my hiking clubmates and I took the Inariyama Course, past the summit of Mt. Takao, to Itchodaira, where we had a lovely time eating, drinking and appreciating the (not quite fully bloomed) mountain sakura in each others' company in the outdoors.

Hanami

Did hanami (cherry blossom viewing party) at Kinuta Park this year. The weather wasn't all that great, but we managed to tuck into most of the food and wine before the rain came pouring down.

Karuta

My junior high school students in a Ogura Hyakunin Isshu tournament. Each playing card has a fragment of a collection of a hundred poems. Two teams compete in a match with each team having half a deck. A reciter chooses corresponding cards from their reader's deck, and reads them out. The aim of the competitors is to touch the matching playing card first. Touching cards in the opposition's side, allows a team to transfer one of their cards over to them. Teams without anymore cards win.

Rice Pounding

It's that time of the year again, where people get together to whack glutinous rice with a mallet.
Freshly pounded rice cakes (mochi) coated with toasted soya bean powder;
Mochi wrapped in seaweed;
Mochi in oshiruko (sweet red bean soup);
And mochi in ozouni (savoury soup)...
I was in mochi mochi heaven...

I don't usually bring my camera to school, so I had to make do with the ones provided by the school for student use...

[Left: The PTA showing us how to do it. Right: The PTA Mochi-Making Army.]

 [The set-up for roasting sweet potatoes.]

[Left: Mochi dunked in soya sauce and wrapped in seaweed. Right: Toasted soya bean powder-coated mochi.]

[Roasted sweet potato.]

[Osekigohan a.k.a. red bean glutinous rice.]

[Left: Mochi in ozouni. Right: Red bean soup with mochi.]