Matsuri!

Summer in Japan is a blend of traditional and modern (as is everything in Japan). The main vacation time for families is mid-August, when fathers get time off work, schools and jukkus cancel all extra classes and families plan their main summer event. It's a time to visit relatives, and most importantly, visit the graves of relatives who have passed on, mainly parents or grandparents, leaving flowers, sake and snacks. Known as Obon, it is a remembrance of those who have passed away, and many matsuris (festivals) are held not only in every town, but every section of the city. Within walking distance of our house we can reach at least 3 local festivals, and many more within driving distance.

Local festivals are small-scale. Food stalls are set up and run by the local PTA, Kodomo-Kai (Children’s Club) or other community group, game stalls with prizes, oftentimes a stage in the center of the locale with either Japanese taiko (drums) or bon-odori (Obon dancing). Neighborhood festivals are low-cost and attended by the danchi (neighborhood), making them relatively safe for children.

But the larger city festivals are a main event for the entire town, and often the surrounding towns as well. You will find stalls all along the location with food, drinks, games and trinkets. It can cost a parent a small fortune to take your kid out to a festival, and I firmly believe this is why so many Japanese families don't have more than 2 kids--it's just way too expensive!! (On a side note, many times the matsuri commerce is run by the local yakuza (mafia)--though not always the case).

The part of the festival everyone waits for begins when the sun is finally down--the hanabi (fireworks—literally meaning flower of fire). A good show can last up to an hour with many peaks and dips in the display, ending with a rather dazzling grand finale, leaving all who attended happy they came despite the crowds, heat, dirt, and cost. Hanabi are a large part of the summer culture in this country, you can buy hand-held and other small-scale hanabi to do in your backyard, the nearby park, the river banks, your campsite if you are so inclined. Every Japanese kid learns good firework etiquette and safety rules—a bucket of water to douse finished hanabi, a plastic bag to collect the garbage, and they also know not to do any shooting hanabi near their neighbor’s houses.

This year we decided to gather together as many available mixed marriage families we could and have dinner together on the banks of our local river where the matsuri was being held. I must say, it was an overall fun event, we even had visitors from the prefecture next to us come along! We made bento box dinners, filled up some PET bottles with mugi-cha, packed in some plastic sheets for sitting, and off we went. The hanabi display was especially good, a sign that our little inaka-town is growing financially.

I solved the money dilemma by giving my kids 500 yen each to spend as they liked, which would be enough for one treat, maybe two if they stretched it. They ended up spending half and saving half for future pocket money, and I was glad not to hear "I want this...Can I buy that..." most of the night, which is a usual tiresome chant whenever we go to the matsuri.

We ended the evening by doing some hand-held sparklers of our own, then packed everything up and headed off to catch the train home. We planned this well, deciding not to leave right at the end of the hanabi, but wait about half an hour when most everyone else had left, thereby catching the tail end of the crowd, and lucky for us we got seats for half the ride home (all of 1 stop!).

If you decide to go to a matsuri, here is a list of what you should bring:

1. money
2. a PET bottle of something non-sweet to drink
3. a plastic sheet for sitting (leisure sheet in Japanese—but check the pronunciation, it’s a bit tricky, sort of ‘layja- sheeto’
4. good walking shoes
5. a hand-held fan (uchiwa--an essential, trust me!)
6. a camera
7. a washcloth or small hand-towel (I actually bring a wet one inside a zip-lock bag for wiping dirty hands or faces--including my own--it can be pretty hot and muggy)
8. a plastic grocery bag for collecting prizes and treats
   
9. and the main part of your meal if you want to save money—food at the festival can cost from 300 yen to 700 yen or more for yaki-soba, tako-yaki, okonomiyaki and all those other matsuri favorites!

Some other matsuri tips:

• Plan to arrive around 5:30, just as the sun is cooling off, but hopefully in time to find a good spot to park yourself. Lay out your mat and leave some food bags to mark the spot, it’ll pretty much be safe. Don’t leave valuables.
  
  
• If you have kids, bring some entertainment as well—UNO, cards, DS games—or you’ll find yourself spending a LOT of money. Bring snacks as well to pull out at various times for diversion.
  
  
• If you like comfort, bring a couple of fold-up chairs, which are from 400 to 2,000 yen at the local supermarket or DIY shop.
  
  
• Bring your own beer/chu-hi. You can also buy these there if you don’t mind paying 2 or 3 times the normal price.
  
  
• If you take the train there, buy your return ticket as soon as you arrive at the destination station so you won’t have to wait in a long line to buy it later.
  
  
• If you drive, be prepared to pay a small fortune for parking, and be prepared to be stuck in traffic for possibly an hour after the show. You can always delay departure from the grounds in order to avoid the main traffic, which can be frustrating and tiring. But, at least you’ll be sitting in an air-conditioned environment rather than crowded onto a train.
  
  
• And finally, just enjoy it all, the crowds, the prices, the food, the interesting sights and sounds. Prepare yourself ahead of time that you might be walking in very close quarters to complete strangers, but this is the way of the matsuri!

And here are some pictures I took of the event!

On our way to the matsuri site, along with everyone else in town!

Many of the young ladies and girls dress in summer yukatas, made of cotton, vs. the more elegant kimono made of silk and worn for ceremonial occasions.

The matsuri as seen from across our local river's bank...and viewed from the bridge..

The first of the food stalls...one of my favorites--TAKOYAKI (octopus balls?)

TAMASEN (egg-rice cracker).... up close..

An OKONOMIYAKI (vegetable pancake? though it often has bacon, pork or octopus as well) stall

Delicious IKAYAKI (grilled squid on a stick!)

KAKIGORI (smoothie? shaved ice? whatever it is, it's great on a hot summer's day)

My kids can't get enough of this RINGO AME (candied apple--or grape--or strawberry)
Take a guess at this one--HORUMON YAKI (fried hormones??)A favorite festival game--KINGYO SUKUI (fishing--uyou use a little scooper with a paper covering, trying to catch as many fish as you can until the paper breaks, and receive a prize (usually some nice little goldfish to take home) according to how many fish you caught.)

KINGYO SUKUI again, but with a twist--fishing for Stitch or Marie figurines.Mask stalls are also popular, selling Japanese character masks as well as ninki western ones.
And a kid decked out in his mask!
Before the fireworks began, lighted prayer lanterns were floated down the river...a beautiful sight which my camera failed to properly capture.

The hanabi display itself--my camera battery died about 5 minutes into the show, so we are stuck with these few images! And finally the train ride home. We were lucky to even find a place to stand, normally trains are way packed after the matsuri.