MP3 track of the day: Universally Speaking -
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Weather: Perfect. No
rain, a gentle breeze, not too hot and only a little cloud cover. It
couldn't have been better.
Today was much more of
a 'usual start' to a summers holiday. Unlike Thursday my alarm woke
me up early, ready for an 8am departure. Like most tourists, I too
had a long journey ahead of me before I would reach my destination:
Akita. I had been to Akita last year (last year I missed the
cities summer festival – Kanto – by one day; hence why I am
returning) and so I knew the route, I knew that it would take
around five hours to get there and I also knew all of the sights.
Akita's Kanto festival started at 7pm so, for the more observant
readers out there, why on earth did I have to leave so early? For the
mathematically handicapped 8am plus 5 hours equals 1pm, which was six
hours before the festival started. Like I said; I'd seen all that
Akita had to offer a year ago so, again, why the early start?
Well the reason was
because I had two stops to make. After my usual drive along 'route
106' to Morioka (which, I may add, was only made different from
the journey Francis and I made two days ago by the lack of rain and I
being alone) I parked up within Morioka's city centre and
attended a two hour Japanese class. This class is ace; it's two hours
long, usually you work 'one-to-one' with an actual Japanese teacher,
it occurs twice a month and it's free. Due to working 'one-to-one'
with a tutor you get to choose the area of study. For me I want to
improve my speaking and listening because, while studying within my
home town, it is easy for me to open my Japanese textbook and
practice grammar points, spelling, writing and reading; but it is
quite difficult for me to improve my speaking and listening skills.
This lesson is great as my tutor doesn't rush me and allows me to
look up words and phases within my textbook. She also listens to see
if there are any areas in my 'sentence forming' where I am making
reoccurring mistakes and, finally, she talks to me slowly and allows
me time to think about what she has said before I answer. All-in-all,
I do feel as though my speaking and listening has improved
dramatically (and I've only been attending these classes since
April).
Once finished I thanked
my tutor and headed back to the car. Being midday the vehicle was
pretty hot therefore I turned the air-conditioner up to full. I left
the centre of Morioka before stopping at a 'out-of-town' shopping
centre for 'fast food goodness'. Soon I was back in my 'hot box' and
heading west towards Akita. The time: 1pm.
I was now travelling
along 'route 46' in a westerly direction towards Akita. Compared to
the '106', the scenery was a lot flatter and less dramatic. The road
did eventually head into the mountains and, while it was very
beautiful, it was also short and a lot of my time was spent in
tunnels. Once across the mountains I descended, once more, into an
agricultural heartland with far away mountains forming a surrounding
outer-wall, preventing the food from escaping. Being August the
fields looked as though they were ready to be harvested. Even though
each field was a different colour (indicating what crop was being
grown where) it was certainly a patchwork of the brightest
greens, browns, purples and reds I had ever seen. All of the food
looked to be in excellent condition and it did make me think back to
my lunch stop. Maybe I should have skipped McDonald's and queued up
at the food outlet where vegetable strews were being sold. As this
thought came into my mind I remembered that I had purchased two
doughnuts earlier; and so I ate one.
So far I have explained
the reason for one of the stops I had to make today; but I haven't
told you about the second. As I finished off my 'custard doughnut'
the small town of Kakunodate came into view. Like the city of Akita,
I visited this town last year and saw all the sights it had to offer.
I was back here because this was where I was going to spend the
night. Back in April, when I'd decided that I wanted to go and see
Akita's Kanto festival, I searched high and low for a hotel within
the city with no success. Kakunodate is about a ninety minute drive
east of Akita and, as the festival should finish around 9pm, I was
adamant that it was close enough to by used as an 'overnight base'.
Me being me, I had pre-booked a hotel and had even printed out
detailed road maps. It therefore took little time to reach
Kakunodate's Plaza Hotel (though I did have to swerve a few time
to miss the hordes of Japanese tourists who had come here to visit
the attractions I saw last year).
Now, Kakunodate Plaza
Hotel sounds posh and grand doesn't it. I am quite sure it was posh
and grand; when it opened. Quite strangely, when gazing upon the
white-stained building from the car park, I didn't think 'what on
earth is my room going to look like'. In actual fact an image of the
owner came into my head. I could see this average height, average
build Japanese bloke gazing upon his creation thinking “...I've
built this hotel to the best of my ability therefore, I will never,
ever, have to do any maintenance on it whatsoever … or modernise it
in anyway...”. As I made my way to reception all of the structural
elements of the building were intact, but it all reeked of the
1970's. Due to this I think they have had problems renting out the
attached 'shopping unit' and therefore, attached to the 'Plaza Hotel'
is the British equivalent of a pound shop.
Once at reception I met
a delightful lady who checked me in and asked if I had any telegrams
I wanted to send. I said no. I also informed her of my intention of
heading to Akita for the cities summer festival therefore I wouldn't
be back until late. She smiled and said it was fine as the reception
was open twenty-four hours a day. As I walked away I turned around
sharply to ask if Wi-fi was available. With a look of horror, mixed
with an expression one usually performs when asked a ridiculous
question, I took that as a 'no' and went up to my room, carefully
by-passing the fax machine.
Once on the 3rd
floor I was greeted by a ruby red carpet. This carpet extended along
the hallway and into my room. Even though the décor was very 70's I
was glad to find a modern bathroom and even a TV. I didn't spend long
in the room; I placed my overnight items neatly upon my sofa and left
the room making sure the door was locked. I returned my key back to
reception and got in my car. The time; 3:20pm.
I continued forever
east looking out for key landmarks to help with my return journey.
Once 'route 46' ended I switched onto 'route 13' and headed
north-east for no longer than thirty minutes. Once in Akita memories
of last year flooded back and I made my way towards the centre of
town using the same roads as I did a year ago. By now I was close to
where the festival would take place. It being 5pm, I thought parking
would be an issue but no; I indicated right and went into a car park
no further than a fifteen minute walk from the festival site. Not
only was this car park pretty cheap (80p per hour) but there
was only one other car parked (the car park had a room for around
fifteen cars). Before walking towards my intended location I
double checked the sign to make sure that I hadn't 'miss-read'
anything. I hadn't. I then left happy though a little apprehensive.
The time was just after
5pm and the street where the festival would take place was still
allowing traffic; therefore nothing was going to happen for a while.
I estimated that I had about ninety minutes to kill and so I headed
towards Akita's park for a quick stroll.
The park was as
beautiful as I remembered, but a lot smaller. This meant that while I
had a great time looking at all the trees, water gardens, lawns and
the one remaining Japanese tower, it didn't take me that long to see
everything. Feeling a little 'peckish' I made my way to Akita's train
station and popped into 'Vida France' for a late 2nd lunch
/ early tea. Unfortunately there wasn't a great deal on offer
however I did manage to find a sandwich, a cake and a nice beverage.
When paying for said items an American dad, and his son, were at the
other counter. The lady behind said counter asked the gentleman a
question in Japanese. He, in response, turned to the people queuing
up behind him to ask if anyone spoke English. I can speak English
however, sadly, I couldn't tell what the cashier was asking (still
need a little more work on my 'listening skills' it seems). I
therefore kept my head down and became very thankful when, in a
flash, a Japanese lady within the queue said the cashier wanted to
know if the farther and son were 'splitting the bill'. The dad looked
perplexed and said he was paying for it all on his visa card; he then
asked the 'English speaking Japanese lady' if it was common in Japan
to split a bill between father and son. “...Father and son no...”,
she replied; “...however it is very common for friends, work
colleges etc to split the bill by paying for what they actually
ordered instead of dividing it between the group...” Once the show
had finished I looked at the gentleman apologetically as I knew he
had herd me order in Japanese, but I didn't rush to help him. Once
sat down I felt a little better about my 'listening skills' as that
question has never come up for me. Either I eat alone (so I can't
split the bill) or I'm with a group of friends and we always ask
for the bill to be split.
Once I'd consumed my
snack the feeling of fullness did not enter my stomach however, I did
feel as though I had enough inside of me to last throughout the
festival. I therefore got up and asked the cashier when the festival
was due to start (keeping my voice low so that the American
tourists wouldn't hear my Japanese). Once I had been given a
reply I left in the general direction of the festival.
Even though there was
still another hour before the festival was due to begin, key viewing
places were filling up fast. I therefore raced down the street and
stopped at a location where all of the people in front of me were
sitting down. This is one thing I do like about the Japanese; at a
festival the people at the front have to sit down on the curb (or
a mat / fold up chair which they had brought with them) so that
others behind can see. It results in at least three to four rows of
people being able to see all of the action instead of only the front
row.
Within my chosen area
was a tree to my immediate left (which was useful as I could use
it to steady the camera) and an electric box a few feet further
away. This electric box came up to my shoulders and with the Japanese
being so short, I presumed the area would remain vacant allowing me
to photograph the procession coming towards me (using the tree),
and going past me (using the electrical box). I was wrong. The
ingenious Japanese have all sorts of inventions and gizmo’s which
make a tall electrical box a merer inconvenience. I had just finished
taking some test shots from the tree when I turned to do the same
over the electrical box; once turned around I found it covered in
people. I therefore had no choice; I surrendered the electrical box
and held onto the tree for all that I was worth. With 'territory'
keeping me occupied the time flew and before I knew it 7pm arrived.
With the sound of
fireworks (which was actually a waste of money because it was
still light at 7pm) the festival began. Next to fill the air were
hundreds of Japanese drums; I looked in the direction of the sound to
see a column of Japanese people marching towards me. Within teams of
four, they carried a structure of some sort which was glowing. It
took a good ten minutes for the front of the column to get close
enough to me so that I could make out individual details. First of
all, just like at Morioka's Sansa festival, the parade was split into
many groups. Each group had a small, open-ended truck, as it's
vanguard. Each truck had a single Japanese drum mounted on the back;
the drum was large enough to allow to people to hit it at once.
Behind the tuck came four groups of four men. Each group held a
bamboo structure, roughly twenty feet long, with about thirty-four
lanterns attached to it (two at the top, four underneath them
followed by four rows of six and then four at the bottom). Each
lantern was made from paper and they all had a lit candle within them
(making them glow orange as Akita's skyline changed from dusk to
night).
It took an age for all
groups to line the entire length of the parade street. Little did I
know but the street had actually been sliced down the middle so that,
when all groups were lined up along the street, it actually became an
oval. Performances would last for around twenty minutes and, once
finished, the groups would walk around this oval until someone said
stop. This meant that the crowds saw three to four different groups
throughout the night.
As the groups were
getting into position the drumming never ceased. To accompany the
drums flutes were played and chants were shouted into the night sky,
creating an intense atmosphere of sound. Then the sound died away.
I knew something was
about to happen but I wasn't sure what. Then, as one, each group
lifted their bamboo structure into the air so it was now twenty feet
high, not twenty feet long. The groups added numerous extension poles
so that the structure was now high in the sky. Finally one member of
the group would take the structure and balance it on a part of his
body. Head, hand, waist; all body parts were used to the amazement of
the crowd. As I looked up and down the street hundreds of these
bamboo structures, each with thirty-four lanterns lit with candles,
were lighting up the sky making it look like a large field of corn. I
stood there, mouth open, totally amazed.
Every so often the guy
holding the structure would pass it to another member of the group.
Sometimes control was lost and some structures even landed on the
crowd. I must point out that no one, I think, was injured as the
structure is very light. Also, quite cleverly, it would appear that
when the structure is about to fall it gathers momentum; this
momentum increases the wind speed which in turn blows out the
candles. I saw this happen numerous times, though I did see one
lantern catch fire.
It's hard to describe
the scene that was laid out in front of me. The drums were picking up
the pace and becoming louder. Performers, who were not playing the
drums or balancing a bamboo lantern structure, were screaming out
chants. Finally hundreds of lantern lit bamboo structures were moving
slowly within the nights sky. It was epic.
After twenty minutes or
so the structures were brought down and set to their 'carried'
position. Any candles that had gone out were re-lit and the
procession moved around the oval until a new group were positioned in
front of me. The same act occurred however this didn't mean that it
got boring; I was still inspired by the whole event and often I
struggled to choose where I should point my camera next.
After the second group
had finished the people sitting in front of me left. This allowed me
to grab a front row seat and get a totally new perspective for the
third and final group. Within this last group was a group of children
aged, probably, between eight and ten. They had a miniature version
of the bamboo structure the adults were balancing and they were
performing the same balancing tricks with the same success. This is
another thing I love about Japan; no matter your age, everyone gets
to join in with their cities summer festival (however, I must say
that I didn't see a single woman / girl balance a bamboo structure.
They seemed to have been giving the task of playing the drums).
All too soon the
festival was over however, the groups did not parade out the way they
had come in. Instead the groups stayed put for thirty minutes or so
and the spectators were allowed to walk onto the road and have their
photos taken next to the participants, the bamboo lantern structures
or the drums. Some spectators even had the chance of playing the
drums or picking up the bamboo structure to see how much it weighed.
I, being someone who likes to watch and not take part, enjoyed
viewing the scene as I walked slowly to my car.
When I got to my car a
Japanese couple were at the exit gate having a bit of trouble. They
were standing there using the phone provided and had reversed their
car to wait for the operator. As I started my engine I felt a little
nervous. As I put my ticket into the machine I hoped that a
ridiculous amount would not be displayed on it's screen.
A ridiculous amount did
not display. Letting out a long sigh I paid the 500 Yen (£4; I
had been in Akita for over four hours) the machine asked for and
left heading out of town.
Just like every other
Japanese festival I've been to, the traffic was light and getting
back to Kakunodate was a breeze. It was so easy in fact that I left
the highway and approached the town at around 10pm. Someone, however,
was upset with this 'good fortune' and played a nasty trick on me.
When I left the highway I entered Kakunodate in a direction I hadn't
entered the town from before. This didn't concern me because, like I
said before, it's a tiny place.
Or so I thought.
Lack of street lamps,
plus limited signs, resulted in a twenty minute drive though
residential streets, farmland, forests and places the Samurai didn't
find. All-in-all I was starting to think that I would never again see
mankind, let alone my hotel, when I shot past the entrance to the
hotel's car park by mistake. Kissing the steering wheel I performed
my twelfth U-turn of the night and parked up. When I arrived in
reception to collect my key, a huge Japanese tour group were there to
greet me. Outside I could see their 'battle bus' and I recognised it
instantly. It had been parked near Akita park (they must have been
to see the festival too).
As I was only
collecting my key I was allowed to jump the queue and soon I was in
my room. After brushing my teeth, setting my alarm and laying out my
clothes for tomorrow I wasted no time at all in getting to sleep. It
had been a long but remarkable day.
********
I awoke at 7:50am due
to the sunlight pouring through my 1970's curtain. I had to check-out
at 10am and, due to the fact that two hours is the normal time it
takes me to get ready at home, my alarm was going to expire at 8am
anyway. The reason it takes me so long to get ready at home is
because I like to read my emails in the morning, maybe a bit of news
and eat breakfast. Today I had none of those chores to do; instead I
found myself showered and dressed at around 8:30am. I therefore took
my bags to the car, checked-out and headed to a local convenience
store for breakfast. I took said breakfast to my car and ate it there
while I reflected on the previous day (plus I cooled the car using
my air-con). It was during this 'reflection time' that I realised
my feet still hurt from the previous day. I took my shoes off
wondering if I could drive bare foot (I know lots of women who do
it). It only took the act of reversing out of my parking space to
realised that it wasn't going to work. As I crawled forward I put my
shoes back on.
I had almost completed
the act when I mistakenly rested my 'driving hand' on the horn. This
resulted in an old lady, who had just driven into the car park,
jumping to attention and me apologising a lot. I decided to leave
Kakunodate quickly before I annoyed any other locals.
The drive back home was
uneventful. Once in Morioka I did a little shopping (four bottles
of Appletise) before taking the '106' back to Miyako. I got home
around 1pm.
So tomorrow I start my
proper holiday. I am off to Sendai before visiting the prefectures of
Fukashima and Yamagata. Eight days in total and I can't wait!
Toodle Pip!
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