Trips around Kyushu

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One of the best things about the JTW course here at Kyushu University is all of the field trips we get the chance to go on and on top of this, Kyushu is a great place to go on your own trips. Last week I was lucky enough to go on a field trip to Dazaifu and our own little road trip to Saga for a balloon festival and 'Karatsu Kunchi', a traditional Japanese festival.

The morning of Dazaifu, we had to meet up outside the international student centre to make our way there by coach and this one was an especially early start since we were going to watch the sumo wrestlers training and they have to train very early in the morning. When we first arrived the younger, lower rank wrestlers were practising. The training seemed to be made up of doing practise fights with two of the wrestlers and a lower rank wrestler trying to push a a heavier, higher ranked wrestler whilst he is resisting. This video (https://fbcdn-video-f-a.akamaihd.net/hvideo-ak-xap1/v/t42.1790-2/10671630_10152464367043596_938591755_n.mp4?oh=5ffa2fc471a2e27584fb38509d77a1af&oe=546348D3&__gda__=1415792574_020efcb2b18ccd701787c572b5eea3ee) shows two higher rank wrestlers, who we were able to watch after the lower ranks, doing this. The one on the right of the video is actually the national champion who won the whole tournament last year and so we were very lucky to get the chance to watch him! It was amazing to see the respect given to the higher ranking sumo wrestlers by the lower ranks. Despite having just done their own very hard and intensive training so were probably feeling exhausted, when the higher ranks are practising the lower ranks must sweep the floors in between matches to ensure the sumo circle made of sand remains intact. This is called a Senpai-Kōhai relationship in Japan where those younger and less senior (Kohai) must offer the utmost respect to their seniors (Senpai). Such relationships are seen everywhere, in all aspects of life here, for example in schools younger students speak to older ones using formal language, bow to greet them and do things like clean the classrooms for them. Senpai-Kōhai relationships are quite an interesting concept, especially in comparison to the UK.

After watching the sumo training, we got the chance to interview one of the high ranked sumo wrestlers and this was a real privilege. One of the Japanese tutors translated for us and it was amazing to see how excited he was to be talking to him. It made me feel as if until then maybe I didn't quite understand just how big of a deal sumo wrestling is in Japan. Whilst we were interviewing him one of his seniors was stood behind him making faces and mocking him which was hilarious! During the interview, he told us a sumo wrestler's daily routine which is basically: 1) wake up at around 5am 2) train for a number of hours, until they are physically exhausted (to the point that many are sick or even pass out) 3) eat a huge meal - he said they eat a huge hot pot consisting of meat and veg and that there was no set amount of calories they must eat a day, they must eat simply as much as they physically can and obviously the more they eat, the better 4) have a two hour nap to allow their body to store the fat after the meal 5) free time but many use this for more training 6) another huge meal 6) more free time to relax before bed. This routine goes on every single day of sumo wrestler's career other than the two or three days a year they get off! Clearly, therefore being a sumo wrestler is more than just a hobby. Even after finishing your career as a wrestler, many will go on to become coaches so sumo wrestling really is a way of life.



The next part of our field trip was to visit the Tenmangu Shrine in Dazaifu. As we went near the time of the Japanese 3,5,7 festival (or Shichi-go-san festival), where children of these ages are dressed up and taken to a shrine for good luck and receive gifts such as stationary in order to facilitate a good education, the shrine was very very busy! However, because of the festival, it also meant that there were lots of really cute Japanese children in their kimonos! We were given a talk about the temple by own our guide before we were given the chance to explore for ourselves. The shrine was really beautiful but it was so busy that it was a little difficult to get around. One of my favourite things about it was the huge fish ponds filled with coy carp and turtles that you could buy food to feed. At one point we were just sat by the pond looking at it and a Japanese man came over and handed us some food to feed them with and was asking about why we were there and stuff which was really sweet of him!

We were told about the famous plum mochi (soft rice cakes) there so after my lunch of tempura prawn udon, we were looking around the shops and I bought some to try. They were sooo good! It's really hard to describe the texture of mochi or even what it tastes like exactly but its something I'd definitely recommend anyone to try if they can! Since plums are the local food in Dazaifu, we also bought a Japanese curry sauce that had plums in it. I've not tried it yet but I'm sure it will be delicious.

After a bit of shopping we went to the zen temple, Kōmyōzen-ji. It has been said that the temple gardens here are some of the best in the whole of Japan so it was amazing to go and see them for myself. The atmosphere inside the temple was so peaceful, like nothing I've ever experienced before. It was almost as if you'd been overcome with calmness as you walked in. Lots of people were sat out on the decking simply staring out into the garden. The gardens were very beautiful but not what I was expecting. To me, beautiful gardens are made up of lots of bright pretty flowers but this garden was made up of grey gravel that has been swept into pretty patterns and lots of bright green trees. However, it really was beautiful to look at and I think a very big contributing factor to the calmness of the place.



The following day, we had made plans with some of the Japanese tutors to hire a car and go on a road trip across Kyushu to Saga prefecture to go to the International Balloon Fiesta. At 6:30am (armed with flasks of tea for us Brits!), we left our dorms as the first balloons were due to go up at around 8am and we had a bit of a journey ahead of us. I thought everyone would sleep in the car on the way there but we were all really excited. When we arrived in Saga we drove past the area where the fiesta was going on but as you can imagine, it was very busy so it took us a while to find a parking space and then about half an hour to walk from the car park to the festival. Saga is so famous for its balloon festival, that even the public toilets were in a building that's shaped like a hot air balloon.. it was so cool, like nothing you'd see in England (even though there were only squat toilets inside, something I've still not got used to!!). When we eventually arrived we had a look around the Japanese style festival food vans, there was so much choice; from burgers to Takoyaki (octopus and batter balls). In the end I bought some Yaki-Soba and a crepe for my breakfast. After eating we were sat wondering when the balloons would go up. However when we eventually asked, we found out that due to the wind, they would not be going up until later on in the day, if at all! The only balloon type thing we saw was a giant sperm whale floating around in the air!!

As a result of the lack of balloons, and having a lot of time on our hands given that it was only about 9am, the Japanese tutors decided we should go to the town of Karatsu since there was a street festival going on there before coming back to the balloon festival later on in the evening. This meant another hour and a half each way in the car but I didn't mind because I slept most of the way and sang (very badly) with everyone for the rest of it haha! When we arrived I couldn't believe how beautiful this place was! It was right by the sea, the sun was shining and the sky was really blue!

On the walk from the car park to the main part of the festival in Karatsu, we walked passed a Japanese tea room offering tea ceremonies for only 300 yen! This is such a good price so we decided we should go in and experience it. This was my first Japanese tea ceremony and I loved it. Although it wasn't entirely traditional given that the lady was showing us how to do everything properly and it was only us in the room, I still really enjoyed it. You get a little sweet/cake type thing that you eat before you drink the tea in order to counteract the bitterness of the ocha (traditional japanese green tea). The sweets were brought out on a little tray and they were all beautifully decorated and we ate them before we were served our tea. Before drinking your tea you must inspect the bowl its served in and when you drink it, it is done in three sips. Two big sips and one last audible slurp to show you are finished and that you enjoyed it!

After the tea ceremony, we walked around the packed streets looking at all the different stalls; some food stalls, some selling fish and some with games like you would find at a funfair at home. Then we watched the street parade where lots of people in traditional Japanese dress were shouting and carrying floats. After it was time to head back to the cars to make sure we got back to the balloon festival in time for the evening balloons!

When we arrived back we could see one balloon was already inflated and more were being set up! As we watched all different types of balloons began popping up. Two of the most impressive were one shaped like a fox and one that was shaped as an astronaut! Once they were all inflated there was music and the balloons lit up in time to various tunes such as the frozen soundtrack Let it Go and Abba. Then there were lots of fireworks were set off. It was a really good show, like nothing I'd seen before at a balloon festival and the fact there were fireworks made up for the fact I'd be missing Guy Fawkes night at home! The only disappointing bit was the fact that the balloons didn't actually go up in the end.. however just the show they had put on was brilliant so I was more than satisfied!



The two trips made for a great weekend. I feel so lucky to get the chance to be able to do things like this and the fact I'm in Japan at all. It really is an amazing place what with all the festivals and events going on practically every weekend! Plus my Japanese is really coming along, I'm actually really enjoying learning it and I can't wait until I'm at the point where I can hold a full conversation which hopefully shouldn't be too long!

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