Random summer festival in Moriya! 「守谷の夏祭り」

Today we had a quiet day indoors. Outside it was hot and sticky (moreso than usual), and we were waiting for Taka to tell us about the festival that was on today.

Well, the festival ended up being at night, so we could've gone out during the day, but oh well.

At 7:00pm we got all dressed up in our yukata 「浴衣」(a light cotton kimono, commonly worn in summer) and Taka's mum drove Taka's dad, Ben and myself down to somewhere near Moriya 「守谷」station.

As soon as we got out of the car the resounding boom of huge drums could be heard, resonating off the buildings nearby. Taka's dad bid us farewell and walked off to his friend's house to drink, apparently not coming to the festival.

Ben and I followed Taka's mum, the sound of the festival getting louder as we approached. We turned a corner and were hit by a cultural explosion.

The street was filled with people. Smiling, laughing, drinking, dancing people. Everywhere. The sides of the road were lined with little stalls, selling various wares, from food to shaved ice with flavored syrup, as well as non-consumable items, such as masks, pin-wheels, and gold-fish scooping.

I thought everyone would be dressed in kimono 「着物」or yukata, but a lot of people were just dressed in normal clothes. Ben and I got a lot of looks-- until Taka and Jason arrived, we were the only gaijin 「外人」 (foreigners) there who were dressed in yukata.

We followed Taka's mum up the street for a while, searching for Taka's older brother Tadao, who was performing on one of the portable shrines 「お神輿, omikoshi」that were the chief entertainment of this festival.

One Tadao was located, we said a brief hello before he ran back to his moving shrine to continue dancing and bouncing around waving a lantern.

The portable shrines were lugged up the street by around ten men/women on each shrine, pausing briefly every twenty metres or so to be spun around and around in circles- sometimes spinning so fast that people spinning them would fall over. I was amazed that the people inside the shrines didn't fall out, or even seem to get dizzy-- they just continued to play their instruments and dance around in their traditional costumes and crazy-face masks.

Taka and Jason arrived, said hi, then disappeared somewhere, not to be seen again until later. After spending a couple of hours at the festival (and eating shaved ice) Taka's mum was going to take us back home. But first, we had to swing by Taka's dad's friend's house (conveniently located next to where to the car was parked) to collect Taka's dad.

Taka's dad wasn't ready to leave yet, so we were all invited in to sit around the low-table in their living room and join in the festivities. The entire table was full of food-- tempura prawns and vegetables, Japanese-style fried chicken 「から揚げ」, assorted sushi and sashimi-- all tmade by the couple who owned the house, and all so delicious.

Taka and Jason arrived shortly after we did, so it was good to have some familiar people there. They didn't stay for long, and Taka was apparently staying at Jason's that night, so they left half an hour after the arrived, once more leaving Ben and I to try and assimilate without unintentionally offending someone.

In the end, it was a great night-- we experienced a Japanese festival, wore yukata, and sat around with some Japanese folks, drinking their beer and eating a feast-- all without offending anyone.

Being invited into a private home and sharing their food like this is something many foreigners in Japan will never get to experience, but if you do receive this wonderful opportunity, be sure to:

• Before you eat anything, say 「いただきます, itadakimasu」to convey how much you appreciate receiving the food your host(s) has so graciously provided you with.
  
• Over-exaggerate everything. If you like the food, make out like it's the best thing you've ever eaten. If you don't like the food, still make out like it's absolutely delicious.
• Always look satisfied/happy. If your host is concerned you're not having a good time, they will get offended.
• Be polite. Saying thank you 「ありがとうございます, arigatou-gozaimasu」and slightly bowing your head when saying thanks will work in your favour.
• Comment on things about the home/food that you like-- tell the host how pretty their house is, or how you especially love what they put into the sushi roll.
• Take your shoes off in the entrance hall! You should be used to doing this by the time you're invited to someone's private property, but just in case you haven't, leaving your shoes on is very rude.
• Try to communicate with everyone as much as possible, even if your Japanese is limited [like mine].
• If you know in advance about attending someone's home (unlike us...), try and bring a small token of appreciation with you, be it flowers for the hostess, or a nice bottle of sake for the host. Watermelon also goes down quite well, as do other well-presented fruits/foods.
  
• Don't fill your own cup--it's rude. You won't have to, because your host will always ensure your glass is full. If the host is busy, someone else will pour you a drink.
  

When it is time to leave:

• Bow, say 'thank you very much' 「どうもありがとうございます, domo-arigatou-gozaimasu」and thank the host(s) for such lovely food, by saying 「ごちそうさまでした, gotchi-sou-sama-deshita」
• Bow and thank them again.
• And again.
• Head back to the entrance hall, put your shoes on, bow and thank the host(s) yet again, leave.

Try not to do hit your head on any low door-frames that may be in the house like I did. Not only does it hurt, it's also embarrassing.