i have two hours to kill here at work, so i am going to tell you thinks and show you pictures. maybe you want to see and hear about the festival that was at the school around the block from my house on saturday. why they had this festival i do not know, from what i can tell it was a generic all-purpose neighborhood festival. it had everything you could expect or want.
you better know they had the brass band from the school down the street to kick things off.
also the kindergartners got to join the parade with their own little shrine thing made out of paper. this was the best shot i could get of them.
there were grandmas making yakisoba, which is delicious.
and lots of little stands selling snacks like yakitori, takoyaki, shaved ice, etc. and even toys too. as you can see here, since there is no right to bear arms in japan, merchants are allowed to sell realistic toy guns to small children, and everything is okay.
here is more evidence of the sale of real-looking toy guns. i had a lot of fun explaining to everyone that these can't be sold in america, because some people do have real guns, and if the cops see you with a realistic fake one they will probably kill you by accident. also, two of these boys have hot dogs.
do you know about mochi? mochi is a very thick, sticky goop or paste made from pounding rice for a very long time. when japanese people look at the moon, they see a rabbit pounding mochi instead of a man. there were guys making mochi at this festival. with each smash of the hammer rice particles and water would go flying everywhere, and after every three smacks a fourth guy would zip his hand in there with water and manipulate the mochi, each time narrowly avoiding the hammers.
the kindergartners, with their amazing hats, seem to enjoy watching this.
and then, unbelievably, in what must be the creation of a lifelong memory, the kindergartners were given a chance to pound the mochi, three at a time. it was wonderful to watch.
here are some happy elementary school girls.
i ate a hotdog, two sticks of akitori, and then this bowl of udon. i was very full.
i have more pictures but i thought these were the best and they are all i am uploading for now.
i have badminton tonight. i get paid this week. i should probably clean the house soon. liz is coming to japan in mid december and staying until january. i think we are going to go to osaka and just hang out and travel, we will see. it will be good to get off this somewhat boring island.
great!
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