017 – Festival Season

Hello lovely readers! Summertime in Japan is festival season, and I am living my absolute best life in early retirement, meaning I have the time to go to them all. So here I am today to share a little about the ones I have attended so far this summer..

Sagami Kite Festival – May 5th

This is the first summer fest we went to this year. Right after I got here last June, Chase told me about a festival that his parents took him to when he was a kid where they flew what he described as “giant” kites. I was unsure whether the kites were actually as big as he described, or if he just remembered them that way since he was small at the time. As it turns out, the kites are actually huge, requiring 50+ people to get them in the air and keep them flying. We made sure to attend the festival this year, and I got to see it for myself while Chase re-lived his childhood. It was so charming, with lots of street vendors to provide the crowds with sustenance as everyone watched the kite fliers attempt over and over to get the giant kites in the air; everyone cheered when they are successful, and “awwww-ed” in unison when the kites inevitably fell. For scale, here is me taking a shameless selfie with one of the kites:

Getting them up and going is quite the operation, with a team holding the kite up when the wind blows, and another larger team standing next to and pulling a giant rope to keep it sailing in the air, running to the end of the rope to continue pulling once their part gets out of reach. Here you can see the line of people that are about to pull the rope (the kite is to the right, out of the frame):

Friendship Festival – May 18th

Friendship Festival is an annual celebration of the relationship between Yokota Air Base and the local community, one of the only days in the year when the base is open to the public and does not require visitor passes. There are tons of food, drink, and art vendors, static displays of US and Japanese planes for people to walk through and look at, live music, and multiple flyovers/parachute drops throughout the day. Chase was in Alaska during the festival this year, but I went with my friend Sophia from choir and her husband, Shun, on Saturday and my friend and Japanese teacher, Tamaki, on Sunday. Chase left me with few details about the fest apart from the fact that it is “a big deal.” When I saw the line to enter the base reaching all the way to Haijima station by our house when I picked up Sophia and Shun, I realized just how much of a big deal it is. For reference, the station 2.5km from the entrance to the base… crazy.

Hydrangea Day – June 15th

Okay okay, this isn’t an official festival, but a bunch of gals and I went to the beautiful Ueno Park on this day to see the hydrangeas (ajisai, in Japanese) in full bloom. Look how pretty!

Obon – June 29th

Obon is an annual festival that celebrates and honors the sprit of one’s ancestors. It is a marriage of the traditional Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and Buddhist custom. It has been celebrated in Japan for over 500 years and includes a dance that everyone in attendance is encouraged to participate in called “Bon Odori.” Most commonly, there is an elevated stage where people perform the dance, and then a circle around the stage where everyone else joins in and does the same movements. I went to Obon this year right by Tokyo Skytree with a few friends where we all (of course) joined in the dance.

After the fest, we walked through Senso-ji Temple on our way to dinner, since we were in the area and I hadn’t been before. This place is normally overwhelmed with tourists during the day, but it was so peaceful at night and not at all crowded.

Tanabata – July 20th

Tanabata, or Star Festival, celebrates the once annual meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, represented by two stars that converge once a year. This year was Fussa’s 74th annual Tanabata Festival and Chase and I hopped on our bikes to join in the festivities by the train station. There was an abundance of festival food, live music, and decorations to celebrate the occasion. We met up with some friends, got insanely sweaty, and eventually got caught in a downpour on the bike ride home. Still a great day though!