Festivals

This is something the Japanese really know how to do well. Everyone loves a festival and the Japanese are no exception. Every summer they hold hundreds of festivals all over the country. You can pretty much guarantee a festival every weekend if you know where to go. Every City has one, every town and every area. Some are famous, some are not. The large festivals have huge fireworks displays which are always a lot of fun. The largest one in the Kansai Area is the PL fireworks. They let off 120,000 fireworks every event...that's 1714 fireworks every MINUTE of the event! I used to go every year, but it got harder with the kids and Shibby working all the time...but it is sooo worth looking at. Here is the last 8 minutes on video from 2006...watch to the end Finale...it is sooo incredible! The whole sky turns red and white. I was so moved when I saw it for the first time live. Some parts get a little hard to see due to the smoke..but it gets really good near the end and I would love for you to see what we get to see every year!
Click here: PL Fireworks (Thanks to whoever made that video......!)
Oh, I just watched it again...it is so good!
Back to festivals...our local festival was last week, they hold it at the school every year and it is always a lot of fun, but the one we really don't want to miss is our city festival, the Kinokawa Festival. They have a fireworks display too, but no-where near as good as PL, but still impressive for our little 'ol town! We can see them from our balcony if you want to come and sip some wine with us. It is held on the 15th of August every year. When the kids were small we used to stay home and have a BBQ on our veranda and watch them from there, but now they are bigger they want to go where the 'action' is..! There is nothing like lying on a grassed hill right underneath these huge fireworks displays with a beer and cheap crappy hot dog! Bliss! Under the huge fireworks displays they usually have endless stalls that sell all kinds of Japanese food and games for the kids. Goldfish fishing, ball fishing, balloon fishing, throwing hoops etc etc. There is often the 'Bon Dance', which is a religious dance they have to send off their ancestors. They all dance around in a circle, and it looks a little like the hokey tokey to Japanese music....and looks just as fun. But the main reason for the festivals is to get all the people together. This is one night that all the locals come out and have fun together. The young girls dress up in Yukata and look so pretty! But there are always so many people....everywhere...people, people, people.....it is really tiring, but energizing at the same time. So, fireworks or not, festivals are a lot of fun and a great way to enjoy the cool summer night air. If you are in Japan between July to the end of October I highly recommend you experience this pagan event at least once! You will see a completely different side of Japan.

Natsu bate

This is a word that you soon learn if you are living in Japan during the summer. 'Natsu' means 'summer' and 'Bate' comes from the verb 'bateru' which means 'to tire or wilt'...(I think!). Either way, if you have ever had it, no translation is necessary! Basically it means that you lose your appetite, you drink but cannot quench your thirst, you are lethargic all the time and have no energy. It is hard at first to know you have it because you feel fairly 'normal' but wonder why you have no energy to do anything! Then someone will tell you, 'You have Natsubate'. Putting a name on it makes it easier to bear somehow...and works for a good excuse to get out of unpleasant appointments. You tell anyone here, 'I have Natsubate' and they will say, 'Oh, that's terrible, you should lie down and avoid cold drinks...'. I have never had to 'fake' Natsubate as I usually get it anyway! Actually, I have it right now. It took me a few days to work it out as it hasn't 'felt' that hot. You know it's hot here when you sit still but still feel the sweat running down your back. But it hasn't been that hot yet so I thought I would be OK. But after 3 days of no appetite, lethargy and thirst, I have decided I have Natsu bate. The easiest way to get it is by going through sudden climate changes, like travelling by train in the air conditioning then walking outside, only to go into an air conditioned building moments later. The sweat glands close off when in the air conditioning and take a while to respond to the change in temperature. That means when you go outside in the heat your body doesn't adjust to the temperature quickly enough to let you sweat.....and most of you know not sweating is a bad thing. Well, I haven't done that, actually we have only used the air conditioner once this summer so far, but I got it anyway! The joys of summer in Japan.....

Something I will miss...

Japan is great for it's technology! This is one of the things that I will miss when we leave this country. 3 weeks ago our gas water heater broke down. We were expecting it to go sooner or later as it hadn't been replaced for 17 years! Not a bad run. While we were umming and ahhing about what to do, 3 weeks passed and we got used to having no hot water. Last Thursday we finally decided to get a new one. I had my first shower and bath in 3 weeks!! Don't worry, I did have sponge baths until then...! It was sooo nice to feel clean again though! It is pretty much the same as our last one... it allows you to set the water level for the bath from 100 litres to 350 litres, and the temperature of the water. It fills the bath for you, then tells you when it is ready. It then keeps it warm for you for as long as you set it for. It also has a timer so you can set it to be ready for when you get home. The benefits of the new one are that it has a wider range of settings, and an alarm button for when you want someone to bring you a Vodka in the bath...at least, I THINK that's what it is for!! The water is now heated a lot faster than before too. It pretty much comes hot out of the tap now, whereas before we had to wait for at least a minute. The pressure is a lot better as well, and for some reason my skin and hair feel a lot softer now! Maybe I just forgot what shower's felt like?!?! There is one digital panel in the bath, and one in the kitchen, so I don't even have to leave the stove to put the bath on! The only thing I have to teach it to do is put the plug in...! Yeah....I WILL miss this place...!

'Obachan's' (Grandma's) Dance

This is a traditional Japanese Buyo dance. My mother-in-law has been learning this dance for some years now...and I think she is really good! She is very particular about the style and hand-movements and it shows in her precise actions. She usually does a dance with beautiful fans, but this time they were using 'tenugui' cloth. Each time they buy a new kimono just for the dance so she has over 30 now. Apparently 30 is not very many according to her! This dance show was in Sakai's Civic Hall that seats 1,500 people. I was very impressed!

Beauty all around...

Here's a shot of the countryside just out the back of our house. We were on the way to horse riding so took some shots of the rice fields. This is a very beautiful time of year...the new bright green colours of new leaves and freshly planted rice fields are breathtaking sometimes. In a month this field will be so green you won't be able to see the water at all. Now is 'frog season'...when you pass these fields in the evening the sound of the ribbiting frogs is almost deafening! One of the reasons I love going to horse riding is the beautiful scenery we pass on the way to get there. It reminds me so much of the roads I used to drive out the back of Howick...before all those houses were built there! Minus the rice fields of course! I love the feeling of freedom driving past all that nature!

The Wierder....

What's the new Pepsi flavour?? Anyone guess?? I heard one good guess, 'lettuce'...mmmm, just as gross but the answer was Cucumber!! Yuk!
Can you believe it???
But I haven't tried it so I can't really judge....

The Wierd...

Pizza Quiz.

And the winner is....
Well, what can I say?? You guys are so much fun!! I really enjoyed reading your fun answers. Some of you really got into it. I hope you had fun guessing!
The answer is...MELON.... huge chunks of it!
Disappointed?? Well, I was shocked to see it come around the table that's for sure! How did it taste? Well, it wasn't awful....just a little like eating dessert with cheese on it! Mmmm...I am one who dips her fries into her chocolate sundae at McDonalds so maybe I'm not a good judge of taste...but everybody else said it was good too! Not something I would order again..but I survived! hehe... The shocking part (for me) is that when I told Shibby the answer..he was really disappointed..he said, 'But that is so ordinary'! on pizza?? ok......
So who won??
Kris! You finally guessed Melon!
Robyn, you were clever to come up with Canteloupe, but that's the ORANGE melon!!
Your mum Carolyn caught on quick and got it with 'Honey Dew Melon'...on the nail!...maybe you two should share?? hehe.
Look forward to your Choc coming in the mail! Congratulations!!
Ready to play again??? There's a new Pespi Cola out now with the wierdest flavour.......!