Tanabata Omatsuri! Washoi!

All week I had seen groups of people building and practicing for the Tanabata Omatsuri (festival), and now the day was finally here!

I started out about about 5:50, seeing that festivities were supposed to start around 6pm and last until about 10 at night. It had rained earlier that day, and it was still sprinkling a bit, but otherwise, it was a nice cool night ... perfect for a festival! There were also gloomy clouds hanging around the mountains; it was an eerie sight, but so beautiful!

At this point the streets were nearly empty, the sun was soon to set, and the rain was just about to stop. The vendors came out to tend to their stalls, and the smells of various treats and delicacies drifted in the air. Everything from ikayaki (aka, squid on a stick) to crêpes!

I parked my bike at City Hall, and walked down Ooguni-machi (main street, as I call it). I walked almost down to the station, taking pictures of groups getting their floats ready, and turned around to head back up the street. I didn't get very far when I heard my name being called. In a city like Murakami, I KNOW I am the only "Kurisutei" ... sure enough, it was one of my bosses down at the BOE. They invited me into their garage area to sit down and enjoy the festivities with them.

I think a few of them were already well and drunk. They gave me food ... lots of food ... and told me to try every single kind of drink they had - from Asahi Beer to Murakami Sake. As the sun started to set, I realized that being in a garage was the best place to be during one of these festivals!

Turns out, that the various groups come down the street with their Yatai (heavily decorated floats), stop in front of the garages or homes, and perform the Shishimai (Tiger Dance - some say Lion Dance). They were all based off of the same story, but each group's dance was different. Beautiful to watch, the tiger's emotions are dramatically displayed in dance form. The dancers use the music to incorporate the crowd, snapping at adults and children, bumping into people, and even getting right up in someones face to dance.

--> Shishimai Video to be uploaded when I get home <--

Soon, Sean walked by, they called him in ... fed him and forced drinks on him as well. After about two hours, countless Shishimai, and more than 5 meat sicks later, Joel, Hannah, and Eric (other Murakami ALTs) wandered past, and they too were called in. They had crepes ... so, naturally, I had to go get a crepe of my own! Cream, chocolate, and sprinkles ... so very very good! I crawled back to my bike ... full of food and drink, and made my way home. I hear there is an even bigger festival in July! The first half of the pictures were taken by me, but my camera died halfway through the night, so I stole Sean's pictures. The pictures are wild and blurry, but I assure you that wild and blurry is an accurate representation of tonight!

Pictures, anyone?