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Published: October 31st 2017
Adorable Girls
Fukuroi Festival, FukuroiHello my fellow travellers!
I got up fairly early this morning to eat breakfast together with Bárbara and Hideyuki. It was pretty clear that Yasuyo is the one that takes care of food in the household, she was out for the moment so Hideyuki was taking care of it with rather funny results. When she returned the first thing she did was to fix some of the stuff to it's proper order. After we'd all eaten me and Bárbara went with Yasuyo to her position during the Fukuroi Festival (
Fukuroi Matsuri) while Hideyuki went on his round around the town.
I didn't quite know what to expect from this to be honest as I hadn't been clear on exactly what we were suppose to do but we ended up in a kitchen/outdoor dining area which turned out to be a stopping point for all the
matsuri yatai (festival floats) on their route through the city.
As we arrived we were given sake and sent to our respective positions. for me that entailed drinking sake and beer while chatting with the guys. For Bárbara it entailed going into the kitchen area to help the ladies making rice and chopping
vegetables. Yasuyo lent both me and Bárbara a
happi (festival kimono) each so we looked the part on our stations.
The entire morning I had to stick to photographing with my mobile phone because I noticed that I lost the spare battery for my camera and my original battery was completely drained. I wrote Junko about it and asked if she could look around in her husband's home for it. After a while she wrote me back that she found it there so when she arrived later during the day to pick us up I could resume photographing with my camera.
I wish I'd had access to the zoom function during the morning because all the time new, gorgeous, matsuri yatai kept rolling in. Many of them were pulled by children, perhaps school classes working in unison, and each time a new matsuri yatai rolled in the people pulling it performed a dance number and they were really good. All the children here look so adorable in their festival clothing that both me and Bárbara melted at the sight of them and she joked that no one should miss one of them if she brought one home in
her pack.
All the time I had an absolutely blast and between each performance I was sitting down with the people there, drinking sake and conversing as best as I could. I especially enjoyed the company of this really cool and energetic guy who was the PR-man of Fukuroi. He was photographing everything and his energy was just amazing as he was dancing and singing loudly. People here really go all in when it comes to celebrations.
After a number of performances Junko arrived and handed over my camera battery but we remained for a little while and watched a couple more performances and I walked along with one of the matsuri yatai for a while when it left the area and chatted to some of the children on it. While we posed for photos together one of them dropped her sandals repeatedly, which was so funny!
This all felt so genuine, this isn't something put on for tourists because there are none. This is for and by the locals, the only foreigners around was me and Bárbara and we were accepted into the community without reservations, helping out and participating to the best of our abilities.
Cool Crew!
Fukuroi Festival, Fukuroi Bárbara showed some pictures from her helping out inside the kitchen and the difference in skills between her and the others was evident. The skill and attention to detail in even minuscule things here is something that really impress both of us.
Eventually though the time came for us to return to Kakegawa so we headed back to Harada's home and returned our happi. Junko and Yasuyo took a while to exchange some clothes between each other because they really are such good friends that they can share clothing. One that wasn't so friendly though is Harada's dog, he's a biter! He bites everyone except for Yasuyo, he even bites Hideyuki!
As we were leaving I noticed the husks of some really cool bugs in the trees in the garden. They were really large and magnificent husks and I would love to see the live insects some day.
When we arrived back in Kakegawa we were welcomed by a stage where a dance was being performed. Below the stage was a dining area separated into a men's part and a women's part. To the side was a barbecue area and a wonderful scent filled the area.
I varied between eating with the men and the women this time while I was enjoying the dance being performed on stage. it was a lot of fun since I recognised several of the ladies dancing. The food was excellent across the board, much of it was local produce and I gulped down way more than I should have but it was just so good. Especially the deep friend and barbecued stuff. They also served
nigorizake (cloudy sake), which is my favourite kind of sake.
After the dance it was time for the karaoke and everyone, including Shôkichi, went up and performed wonderful, and sometimes even really great, songs! While the karaoke was being performed I also met up with, by request of Junko, a girl named Erimi whom I met last year when Junko introduced me to all her students. Apparently Erimi fancied me a bit after our last meeting and I promised Junko to meet her for a while at least.
Junko is always trying to set me up with her students, tonight I will meet Takae again whom I met during my last visit. I look forward to meeting her again and see how it
First Dance Performance
Kakegawa Festival, Kakegawa feels after this long. I tried to keep in touch with her since last year but due to some family issues she broke of the contact for a long time but resumed it about a month ago. If it hadn't been for that I might not have met her again this trip. Yuka that I met yesterday was also one of Junko's students that she wanted me to meet for this reason.
Erimi is a sweet girl, very talented in origami, and last year she gave me several wonderful origami creations that I still have at home and this year she gave me even more of them. The only problem is that she is incredibly shy. I mean Takae was shy as well but not this much. I tried to talk to her for quite some time but she only said a couple words in total even though I spoke to her in both English and Japanese.
Eventually the turn came to me and Bárbara to sing, I had already promised to do this yesterday but Bárbara seem to have been caught off guard regarding this but she followed suit as well. Since neither of us knew anything
from the song list I started with a happy birthday song in Swedish and Bárbara went with a pop song on her mobile phone.
After we had both sung the floor opened up for questions for the both of us during which Bárbara delivered a really wonderful and heartfelt speech that I was really impressed by. It was regarding how the people of Kakegawa took us in as part of family. It really tugged at the heartstrings and it was well received.
After the karaoke and prize ceremony (me and Bárbara got a joined prize) it was time for Bingo. Everyone got a bingo board and when you were one away from bingo you had to stand up. I got on my feat quite early and had many fours but I was ultimately unable to score the fifth and final number needed for a bingo but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.
When all the prizes had been won in the bingo the ladies performed two final dances but this time they were joined by a man on stage as well for the first one and it was a lot of fun to watch him try
Shôkichi Sings Karaoke
Kakegawa Festival, Kakegawa to keep up with them. I'm guessing it might have been slightly improvised which, in my opinion, only made it better!
Once the dancing and karaoke was at an end it was time for the
mochinage (rice cake throwing). It's a tradition in Japan and it basically entailed a few guys climbed up onto the matsuri yatai with crates full of
mochi (rice cake). Everyone else, including me, stood at the ready below with bags, poised at getting as much mochi as possible! I did quite well, getting my hands on a great load even though both me and the lady next to me was hit on the head by the mochi while doing it. It hit harder than you might expect.
After the mochinage Junko drove me and Bárbara into the centre of Kakegawa to visit Kakegawa Castle (
Kakegawa-jô) since Bárbara hasn't seen it yet. It's a beautiful little castle, like most castles in Japan it's a reconstruction, but it's a well made one and located very picturesquely on top of a hill overlooking the city. Last year it wasn't open when I arrived so I was hoping I might be able to see a little more
of it this time.
While walking to the car our paths crossed with a gorgeous praying mantis. I love insects and one of the local guys picked it up and showed it to me a it closer. I tried to do the same but it was a strong and aggressive little bugger and he managed to bite me. They actually have strong jaws and I certainly felt it. It was cool though, it was actually my first time seeing one of them on my travels and we don't have them in Sweden so it was nice despite the little love-bite it gave me in the process.
On our way to the city centre we went back up to Shôkichi's home to let Vivian out for a while which ended with her pooping on the floor then stepping in it and running around the house which was hilarious (when I'm not the one that had to clean it up). Shôkichi was surprisingly relaxed about it all, had it been my tatami mats that had been poop-stained I might have been less level-headed about it.
When we arrived in Kakegawa centre we were unable to find a parking spot
Bárbara Sings a Pop Song
Kakegawa Festival, Kakegawa because most of the centre was closed of due to the festival. Therefore Junko dropped us of next to a bank and we agreed to meet at that spot a bit later and then me and Bárbara walked over to Kakegawa Castle from there. We entered the premise through the
Yotsuashimon (Four Legs Gate) and then walked up the stairs towards the
tenshu (main keep) only to find the staff closing it up. He was nice enough to let us in for a few moments to at least take a closer look at the tenshu which was really kind of him.
Kakegawa Castle has an interesting history. The construction of the castle began during the Bunmei era (1469–1487) by the lord of the Asahina clan which served as retainers to the Imagawa clan. The castle remained under the Asahina clan until it was surrendered to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) after the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 when Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) defeated and killed Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519–1560) and effectively brought an end to the rule of the Imagawa clan in the region.
I hope to visit the site of that battle at some point in the future and go into
detail of it as it's one of the most impressive feats of military achievements I've ever read about and really highlight the cunning of Nobunaga as a military genius.
After the death of Nobunaga in 1582 and the ensuing power struggle of his most powerful retainers the castle again changed ownership after the Battle of Odawara in 1590 and the rise of Toyotomi Hiseyoshi (1537–1598) Ieyasu was forced to trade this castle for another domain. However, after the fall of Hideyoshi and the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1868) the castle came back into the ownership of the Tokugawa clan.
Unfortunately the castle was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1854, parts of it was repaired in 1861 and was later used by the local government after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the tenshu was however not rebuilt as many military structures at the time was dismantled to reduce the power of local
daimyô (feudal lord) in favour of the new central government.
In 1994 the tenshu as well as parts of the
honmaru (innermost bailey) and a
yagura (tower) was reconstructed using original methods, making this the first castle in Japan to be restored using original
building methods. The reconstruction was primarily funded through public donations.
The Ninomaru Palace (
Ninomaru Goten) is still original and was built by Ôta Sukekatsu (1827–1862), the 6th daimyô of the Ōta clan which ruled the Kakegawa Domain from 1746 to 1868.
The area is also quite scenic thanks to the small, but well-kept, Kakegawa Castle Park (
Kakegawa-jô Kōen) located on the premise as well as the Sakasa River (
Sakasagawa) which flows in front of the castle.
As we were making our way back to meet Junko we managed to take a wrong turn and ended up a little bit lost. This caused Bárbara to get very anxious as but I told her to relax and that we could just get wifi at a nearby convenience store and look on the maps to see where we ended up wrong. But while we were retracing our steps I recognised the bank where Junko had dropped us of and we had just ended up on the other side of it, just one road away from where we were supposed to be.
We returned to the local festival area where Bárbara and me ate a light evening meal and picked
up some snacks and
onigiri (rice balls) for our upcoming trip to Takayama. Everyone was packing up by the time we arrived so it was pretty well timed to just grab some light food before our drive back to Shizuoka. While me and Bárbara was doing that Junko went back to Shôkichi's home to get Vivian.
When we came back to the car Junko was pretty upset because one of the, well, more solitude men had gotten drunk and yelled at her for parking in the wrong spot. Even though he wasn't even driving himself and it didn't affect him in the least. He had called her an outsider because she lives in Shizuoka rather than in Kakegawa. Me and Bárbara consoled her on the drive back to Shizuoka, I'm terrible at that kind of stuff though but Bárbara was amazing and calmed Junko down really well. She is a very nurturing and emphatic soul and I'm really impressed by her.
As we came back to Shizuoka Junko called Takae who came over. Unfortunately it was only a brief visit because she was heading to Hamamatsu to celebrate her grandfather's birthday. It was nice to see her again
Barbecue
Kakegawa Festival, Kakegawa even if it was for such a short time but it felt like we have been drifting apart a bit which I guess is to be expected since it's been a long time since we last saw each other. But she told me that she and two of her friends are planning a trip to Europe early next year after she graduates and before she starts her new work. Perhaps they might come to me at that time if her friends are okay with it.
I'm really impressed by her, studying at the university while working a lot of extra jobs at the same time while also dealing with her family issues. I'm not surprised that she couldn't maintain contact with me with all that going on. I guess we'll see how things go from here on forward.
As we came back to Junko's home our path inside was blocked by another big praying mantis sitting on the wall by the door so I was asked to remove it which I did and I ended up getting bit a second time. Man I suck at holding these buggers down, getting bitten twice by them in the same day.
Before bed I checked up on our accommodation in Takayama and I noticed that I had messed up pretty big-time as it wasn't reachable by public transport (well, three and a half hours from Takayama by bus) so Junko called on our behalf and cancelled it and we decided to just go early in the morning and return in the evening instead and then spend and extra day in Shizuoka rather than continuing to our respective destinations from Takayama. So before getting ready for the night we went to the train station in Shizuoka to arrange the tickets both to and from Takayama but also for our respective destinations after that (Kyoto for Bárbara and Matsumoto for me).
At the station the lady behind the counter who helped us out was incredibly graceful, not just to my eyes, but to all of us. We were all entranced by her grace and our discussion about her ended in a "bet" over her age with Bárbara guessing 18 years old, me 23 years old and Junko 26 years old. Embarrassingly enough, Junko asked her about her age but fortunately she was really flattered by it. She turned out to be
Praying Mantis
Kakegawa Festival, Kakegawa 23 years old so score one for me. She definitely had the grace to work as a hostess or something similar and it was quite surprising to find her behind the desk at a local train station.
So, as you might guess, tomorrow I will be spending a lot of my time on trains, going to Takayama and back together with Bárbara. There we visit the Hida Folk Village (
Hida no Sato). It's an open air museum depicting an authentic Edo period (1603–1868) village. It was made by moving actual Edo period houses in from all around the Hida area. If there is enough time we might also visit the Takayama Festival (
Takayama Matsuri) as it's one of the most famous festivals in Japan. Both of us are a bit full on festivals now though so it's not a priority for either one of us at the moment.
I expect that it will be a good day despite all the time spent travelling. Well, as long as you have some good food and some good company the time spent on the road is usually easy. I just hope that the Hida Folk Village will live up to Bárbara's
Tenshu (Main Keep)
Kakegawa Castle, Kakegawa expectations since she was planning to go to Shirakawa-go which I've heard is truly stunning but it's just a bit to remote to really visit with the time available for us.
Until tomorrow I wish you all peace and happy travels!
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
For the love of mochi!
I'm a very big fan of mochi, and probably would have got a bit competitive trying to catching all those mochi :) The only mochi we get here are the daifuku ones (round, with a sweet filling), so looks like I'll have to get myself off to Japan to try the other types. Aren't mantises amazing? I love them, but when they get into their 'pray' position is when they are about to attack some poor unsuspecting food source...so I think that may be why you got bitten. Praying Mantis 2 / Per-Olaf 0 :D