Summer time is festival time in Japan. Yesterday I made it out to the Itako street festival. It was a great time. The streets were crowded with people, booths with food and games, and large interesting floats. The floats, like in Sawara, depict ancient warriors, spirits, and unique here bails of rice (complete with mice clinging to them). I saw some of my students outside of class, and they were happy to see me. At one of the booths I finally tried festival yakisoba. I also tried some delicious fire roasted squid.
The floats are really amazing. Teams of men maneuver the floats, and long lines of women pull them. All followed by singing and dancing. Everyone having a great time in the summer heat.
I had the idea to stay until the end but around eight I noticed a lightning storm in the distance. Seeing as how I rode my bike to Itako I started riding as hard as I could back to my apartment in Kashima. The ride was dark and dangerous, with the storm moving in. I made it home just before the rains started.
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