Japanese are very big on seasons. To go along with the seasons are festivals, also incredibly popular in Japan. In autumn, there are festivals, known as matsuri, held at local shrines. I felt incredibly honoured when my supervisor, Kubota sensei, invited me to attend the festival at his local shrine with his family. Festivals in Japan really aren't hugely different from festivals at home. There's the numerous food stalls and always some type of entertainment. The food stalls carry such specialties as takoyaki (fried, breaded octopus) and Anpanman and Hello Kitty shaped cookies (Anpanman is a cartoon character, whose head is made from bread, and who will feed the malnourished by giving them bites...I'm not kidding!) At this particular festival, the entertainment was taiko drumming. There were many taiko groups that performed, including a group of
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