My first weekend at home in Innoshima was a complete success! August is festival month in Japan, and this weekend it was the Summer festival in Innoshima. My friends Stacey and Allison joined me for some island fun! On Saturday evening there was a big celebration at the beach. There were hundreds of people there, to watch dance performances, taiko drumming, fire parades, and a lot of chanting. The night started with performances by the children, who were really cute....and will probably all be my students in a couple of weeks! Most of the people were dressed in antique-style army gear. Innoshima used to be the home of a pirate naval base in the 1400s, so it probably has something to do with that. One of the highlights of the night was the lighting of two
... read more