Yosakoi

In my last post, I told you about my favorite things in Japan.  In case you don't remember here's my list so far:
1.  The kind Japanese people
2.  The amazing seasonal flowers
Today, I found number 3... the festivals! The Japanese love their festivals and so far I haven't been disappointed by any of them.  Their costumes are amazing and everyone is just so happy!

Well, this morning started off sad because Chris and I hadn't been able to talk all week and then this morning, while I was home, I missed two phone calls.  I'm not able to call him back, so it's frustrating when that happens.  After church I was going to go to the festival, but it was raining.  But I talked myself into it because I reminded myself that I had an umbrella in the back (turns out by the time I parked my car, the rain had stopped) and that I'm only in Japan once.  I'm so glad I didn't miss this festival! They truly changed my attitude today.  I walked to the festival feeling pretty sad and missing my honey, and I literally left with a smile on my face because they were so exciting to watch!

This was the Yosakoi festival. Yosakoi is a style of dance that is highly energetic and it combines Japanese dance movements with modern music.  The dances are done by large teams which include men, women, and children of all ages. A defining aspect of every team's dance is the "naruko." This is a small wooden clapper that the dancers hold during their routine.

Posters advertising the festival... the picture in the middle is the naruko.

Here's some fun pictures from the dancing teams... there were a ton of teams, so I'm just warning you, there are a ton of pictures, too!!

They just love to have their picture taken!

These performers were being judged, but I didn't stick around long enough to see the winners, so I am giving them the award they would have received from me. :)

This first group wins for being the most colorful and most costume changes...

Love her excitement!

Just beautiful!

This is why they won in this category!

This next group won for best use of pom-poms in a routine...

Look at their fun facial expressions!

 This group won two awards: Best  traditional costumes and cutest child award...

I told you!

She was thrilled when her mom gave her clappers to make noise with!

 And these are my winners for best eye make-up and hair accessories...

Notice the eyes...

Just love it!

 And these girls get my vote for best song... they danced to, "I Need a Hero," and yes, I was singing along!

Okay, and she was super cute, too!

 This group wins for being the most amazing. There was one girl dancing with about 12 elderly women, they were pretty spectacular!

 And finally, most dramatic... they were so loud, I had to stop taking pictures because I was giggling so hard, but they did a great job!

It's like she was screaming right at me!

Maybe they'll ask me to be a judge next year! :)

Okunchi Festival and Rice Harvesting

My Japanese student, Yasuko, told me about a festival going on this weekend... The Okunchi Festival is held every year in the fall in Nagasaki. The map we had wasn't too good (partially because it was all in Japanese), so needless to say we were thrilled when we literally turned a corner and saw the floats coming down the street. It was fun to see everyone in their costumes and Japanese attire. Here's a few pictures from the festivities...

I liked this picture... they are reaching for the goodies being thrown off the float.

The men pulled the boat while the kids inside played instruments.

Kimonos and umbrellas! Love!!

The festival was to celebrate the harvest so on the way home we had to stop to take pictures of the rice being harvested. It was such an incredible sight to see! 

I was so excited to see this sweet lady working in the rice fields and I thought her bonnet was too cute!

Amazing!

I decided today that my two favorite things about living in Japan are the kind people and the beautiful flowers. Every season is better than the one before it. I still can't decide which season is my favorite. The flowers are so vibrant and they are everywhere.  Right now it is cosmo season.  The shades of purple are spectacular!

The fields of cosmos were such a beautiful sight!

My wonderful friends that I am so blessed to have, Donna and Sharon.

And of course my trip wouldn't be complete if I didn't find a fun goodie at the convenient store.  Today's find was Cookies and Cream and Strawberry and Hazelnut Kit Kats... they will be in the mail this week for my niece and nephew to sample.  Enjoy, Cade and Ella!!

Hisami Scarecrow Festival

Fall is officially here in Sasebo and the weather is absolutely beautiful!  Today I went with a few friends to Hisami (a small town about 45 minutes away) to the annual scarecrow festival. Every year the locals decorate scarecrows and line the street with their creations. It is quite an unusual  sight!  Some of them were a little odd, and some of them we had no idea what they were because of course the signs are in Japanese. But we had a great afternoon looking at all the fun scarecrows and enjoying the amazing countryside. Here are some pictures of my favorite scarecrows.

This is for my honey... it's a Harry Potter scarecrow!

The scarecrows lining the streets.

Scarecrow holding a fish...

Scarecrow with fish in a basket...

Playing on the bridge...

Playing "Ring Around the Rosey"

I think this is some sort of sports team, maybe soccer?

Okay, this by far was the funniest scarecrow, and the little kids standing by it and playing in the water, made it even better!

Just too funny!

Who knows??

The scarecrows were fun to look at but the most amazing part was the amazing rice fields.  The fields are turning yellow, because the rice is almost ready to be harvested.  The fields were breath-taking.

The rice in full bloom

Rice fields of Hisami

I just loved the sight of the rice fields, red flowers, and stream.

Just amazing!

Of course I had to take some pictures of the bright and beautiful wild flowers.  They just added to the scenery to make it even more spectacular! I don't think I'll ever get used to the beautiful wildflowers of Japan!

After the festival, my friend took us to a fun udon (fat noodle) place where you could watch them make the noodles.  It was yummy and exciting to watch!

The noodles on the conveyer belt

Dishing out the udon noodles

Yum!!

Ohgata Cho Farmers Market

So tonight Chris and I experienced something new for the first time... We have been in our house for eight months and once a week we see a truck selling vegetables parked in the empty lot across the street from our house. Before he parks he drives around our neighborhood playing music from his truck, just like the ice cream man.  I must admit Chris has always wanted to go see what he was selling, but I have been pretty nervous.  I didn't know if he would pressure us into buying things or just be plain creepy.  Well tonight after our dinner date, we decided to head on over and check him out.
We had such a fun time! He let us look in all his boxes where he had tons of fresh vegetables at amazing prices!  I think he really enjoyed seeing how excited we got!  After we paid, he continued to give us free veggies like onions and tomatoes.  I am always so pleasantly surprised at the kindness of the Japanese people.  They are just so giving and friendly!  I have definitely found my new produce stand!

Our vegetable man and his truck right across the street from our house

Our goodies we came home with!