Ritsumeikan Festival and Thanksgiving in Kyoto

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November 28th 2008

Published: December 7th 2008

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Willie J

Crowds at Ritsumeikan Festival

こにちは (Konichiwa) from Japan. First let me start by describing one of the most fun collegiate events that I have ever been to in my life. Rits Festival 08 was an event put on by my university here in Kyoto for the student body. It is composed of musical acts, concerts, a wrestling match, a haunted house, and lots and lots of great Japanese food. The Rits festival (11/16/2008) is also a place where student clubs can set up booths and raise money for their clubs by selling food. I recently joined the Volleyball club here at school and we had an ice cream booth set up. By the time I went to help out with selling the ice cream...it was all sold out! I had the chance to experience the haunted house, a couple of concerts, and many different types of food and cultural events while attending the festival. It was extremely crowded on campus as students, parents, and local Kyotoites converged on Ritsumeikan University campus for the two day event. I was especially excited about the dance concert which took place later on in the evening because my dorm mate Joyce (from Hong Kong and Canada) was performing with

Haha!

A guy promoting his club using all of his assets.

her dance club on the main stage. Her event lasted about 20 minutes and it was the best original and coordinated dance ensemble that I had ever seen! I was completely floored to see so many students committed to dancing that they would not hesitate to put on a show for the entire university and their parents. After the Rits Festival I went out with my new friends that I made from the Volleyball Club. The majority of people on the team speak Japanese obviously but some speak English and broken English...but of course I was able to use some of my Japanese over dinner with my new friends. I also got to try Octopus that night also....(it was quite chewy) After all I am trying to try things that I would never do back home in America while I am living here in Japan.

Thanksgiving (11/27/2008 Kyoto, Japan)

Ok so we all know that Thanksgiving is an North American tradition but who knew that you could celebrate it 7,000 miles away in Kyoto, Japan. So me and a couple of other Americans and Canadians thought it would be a great idea to have a Thanksgiving feast here

Cheerlearders

Some cheerleaders on the Rits campus.

in Japan to share our holiday with our new international friends. Of course many of the people who wanted to attend did not know what the holiday was all about but leave that up the the N. Americans to explain it. The event took place at Rits International House 2 which is the other international dormitory near the one in which I live. I and the other people from NA where extremely excited about celebrating with our new friends since we did not have the opportunity to celebrate with our friends and family back home. Many people brought food, deserts, and drinks that lasted through the entire dinner. There was even Japanese food there! Our beloved friends Turkey and Ham could not make it to the dinner but they were replaced by chicken and yobosaki (a Japanese dish with beef, noodles, and veggies) which was welcomed by everyone. As you can see by the pictures there was lots of food and lots of people there! I hope Christmas is much the same! More updates to come soon!

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