Local Japanese Fall Festivals: Part 1 - Lanterns

In this and my next few posts I'd like to share about some of my favourite local Japanese fall festivals, all of which take place in various little towns outside of Miyazaki city, and all of which I have tried to go to every year I have been in Miyazaki.  

The paper lanterns painted by local students

My friend burning a scroll offering

The first is a lantern festival at a small town nearby called Takanabe. In mid October they decorate the Takanabe castle ruins at Maizuru Park and the surrounding streets with lanterns and candles, with a total of over 1,500 lights altogether! This festival began 14 years ago to "foster moral principle" and spread the teachings of the Meirin-do school, the official school of the region which was begun by Taneshige Akizuki in the 17th century.  

One of many pretty displays

One of the cute displays

Before it gets dark and the candles are lit, the festival begins with a parade of dancers, mainly obaachans (grandmothers) in traditional wear doing simple graceful movements. And of course just like most Japanese festivals, there is also a main stage area with various music and dance performances and festival foods to enjoy. But the main attractions of this festival appear after dark. You wander the grounds and see the variety of beautiful (and of course because this is Japan, some cute) lantern displays. In one area paper lanterns are painted by the local elementary school students, and this is usually the first display you come across. Another contribution done by the local school is that usually the whole school field nearby is lit by hundreds of candles placed in various patterns, shapes and words that you can see vividly when you look onto it from the street above. You can even walk onto the field and enjoy this display close up if you like, being surrounded by the light and candles. 

Bamboo with letters carved out
and candles placed inside

The river of light flowing down the hillside!

Further into the park, they also have many displays using carved or cut bamboo with candles inside that are especially striking. I enjoyed that they even made the banister going up to another field of displays an art form like this, carving flowers, dragonflies, words and such out of it and lighting it up. Most spectacular though is the main display at the top field. It uses hundreds of short bamboo sticks cut at various angles with candles inside and positioned carefully down the bank to look like a flowing river of light rushing down towards you (see right). The photo of course doesn't do it justice.

All in all this is a beautiful, charming festival that lets you walk around at your own pace and enjoy admiring the town's obviously great efforts in making a lot of very aesthetically pleasing and creative displays with light and lanterns. It's definitely one of my favourite local festivals.

Catch-Up: Fall Festivities & Dancing in Japan

First, let me apologize for the extremely long delay since my last post (omg 3 months ago!). One excuse is that my job seems to never run at a normal speed - it's either at a snail's pace or lightning fast - and the last few months I've been insanely busy at work. Another excuse is that I've had a lot going on outside of work too - I've been living (and loving) life, enjoying a lot of festivals and travels. But the good thing is that I plan to tell you all about these adventures now - better late than never ;).

So let me start with the festivities from last fall. It was a jam-packed month that began with some fun not-so-Japanese events: a German-style Oktoberfest beer and food festival and of course the foreigner community's annual dress-up and dance party for Halloween.

Beifall!

Oktoberfest, in true German-style, meant that the beer was still flowing in the 3 block heart of the Tachibana dori-Ichibangai shopping arcade even though a typhoon had recently struck and warnings persisted for another on its way. Me and my friend had had enough of cabin fever and braved the trek downtown. Not so surprisingly, we found that we weren't the only ones.

Other than the expected curious (or beer savvy) Japanese, we found other foreigners out and about. One such was of course our favourite lederhosen-clad ex-JET German friend, who now lives permanently in Miyazaki with his Japanese wife and adorable son. Cheers (or beifall!) to representing your country with spirit!

Omg! Beer that isn't lager still exists!

Possibly the best
hefe I hefe efer had? 

I can't describe the joy that I felt as I tasted a hefeweizen again for the first time in over a year! It's hard not to be a goofy, giddy gaijin (foreigner) when you suddenly taste all the delicious beer options (other than lagers) that you almost forgot existed! I'm hardly a beer connoisseur and usually stick to the lighter ones anyway, but hadn't realized how tediously accustomed I had become to the Japanese staples of Kirin, Sapporo, and Asahi. It was absolutely refreshing to sip some more flavourful suds for a change!

-- But before I give someone the wrong impression, let me clarify that while it is definitely possible to find beers other than Japanese lagers in Japan, they are not usually available at restaurants or bars, or even common at most stores, and you usually have to go to specific imported goods stores such as (in Miyazaki) Foodaly or Kaldi. Needless to say, a foreign beer festival was definitely a treat!

Cat's got the Kong's Cap ;)

Next up were the Halloween parties, of which I went to two this year! One was a smaller dress-up party at a friend's karaoke bar. Costumes were adorned, drinks were drunk, songs were sung, games were played, prizes were won, and all around merriment was had! In a lame attempt to save money, for both events I used various items I already had and went as a cat. Boring? Or classic? I'll let you decide.

The main Halloween event was the huge annual dance jointly hosted by our local foreigner-friendly bar, The Bar, and our local "dance" club, The Weather King. I don't get many opportunities to unabashed break out in any kind of footloose these days, so there are no photos of said Halloween event (because I was getting my groove on on the floor as much as possible). And if you are wondering about the earlier quotations around "dance" club and why I don't get many opportunities here...

More hat switching!

Let me take a minute to tell you about the dance situation in Japan... (at least in Kyushu...)

Group shot! Fun times!

First, at clubs, rather than dancing, Japanese people usually stand awkwardly around the walls and watch a performance on the front stage (hip-hop, break-dancing, bmx show, etc). Definitely entertaining, but if you just want to dance and this darn show keeps getting in the way, it can be sort of annoying. Japanese people are not accustomed to dancing in the way that we are, and even if there is not a separate stage and no performances, they are often too shy to dance like we do... Usually us foreigners will go crazy anyway, encourage them, and add to our general reps as goofy gaijin! ;)

One of my besties won this 2007 red, which
I had really wanted so he gave it to me!
I plan to enjoy it together sometime :)

Next, some cities have outlawed dancing in regular clubs (eg. Fukuoka - the biggest city in Kyushu... sigh). While the rumor is that it is because this leads to promiscuity, the truth is in fact because of crowd density - true dance clubs have to get a special (and expensive) license and limit their numbers so there is enough space. Most places just go for the cheaper music and bar option where they can pack people in like sardines. I think I have never been in a more dense situation than such a club in Fukuoka. And FYI, if you and your friends try your luck too much and attempt dancing, then even chair dancing, you will be kicked out of the club. This is because the police are very strict about the licensing and will check in at the clubs throughout the night.

Okay, so needless to say, when there is a more foreigner-style proper dance Halloween party, I waste no time with photos. But please enjoy the few above I have from the karaoke Halloween event! And if you love dancing like I do, don't take it for granted and bust a move for me next time you are in a Western style dance club!

In my next post, Japanese Fall Festivals