Recently we stumbled on a small grocery in central Kawagoe. In addition to locally-grown grains, they had also had a decent selection of organic products and even a couple vegetarian items! I had just “liked” them on Facebook (because I like them in real-life) when the flash of a logo caught my eye. The Kawagoe Farmers Market!
The Kawagoe Farmers Market at Renkeiji Temple
Most local events are advertised to, well, locals, meaning everything is in Japanese. The farmers market site is no different, but with a bit of translation work, I figured out it’s held monthly at Renkeiji Temple in the heart of the old town area called Koedo. Back home, spending a Saturday wandering around local farmers markets was one of our favorite activities. We’ve found a couple really good ones in Tokyo, but making the hour-plus trip into the city can be daunting. We were excited to check out this local option.
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Decorating reusable bags featuring the Kawagoe Farmers Market logo
Kids watch as their mother explains how to puncture the orange to insert the cloves
A local band performing for the rain-soaked crowd
The market was bustling considering the cool and soon-to-be rainy weather. A local band performed at one end of the market; the music could be heard from a block away. Kids and adults alike toiled away at the craft tables, making Christmas ornaments, pomander balls (clove-poked oranges) or decorating reusable market bags.
Our heads swiveled back and forth, led by our noses, as market-goers walked by with lunches prepared from locally-grown ingredients. Soups, noodles, sweet potatoes, tea, coffee and sake.
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Ramen with a unique sauce, raw onion slices and a homemade wakame/caper garnish
Braving the rain at the Kawagoe Farmers Market
Tall chairs, little legs
The light rain didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the market, but the roof over the Renkeiji Temple bell tower did become quite popular
The unforecasted rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. The Japanese are magically prepared for rain in a way I’ve never seen anywhere else. Adorable children popped open equally-adorable umbrellas that engulfed their tiny frames. In the area with the food stalls, people ate with one hand while holding umbrellas over the table with the other.
We ordered a unique take on ramen for lunch. Thick noodles tossed in a homemade sauce and topped with thinly sliced raw onions and a special blended sauce made from wakame (seaweed) and capers.
Oyaimo—Japanese taro root—is in season and sold by all the produce vendors, including Narukawa Farms
A friendly local who spoke near-native English explained the mysterious seasonal produce to us. In addition to a beautiful head of purple cabbage, we bought a bag of oyaimo—Japanese taro root— and some sweet yellow carrots. A local farm offered free-range eggs. We bought a bubble-wrapped bag of 20 to go. We rounded out our purchases with some really flavorful black rice crackers and an organic black rice beer.
Waffles at the Fuku Fuku Stand near Renkeiji Temple. Cranberry syrup on the left and maple syrup on the right.
As we exited the shrine, I noticed a waffle stand that we’d seen on television a couple months ago, but never managed to stumble upon. One last snack for the day!
On Monday, my Facebook feed filled up with photos that vendors and visitors took at the market. Full bellies, full hearts and full smiles everywhere!
Last month, the guys over at BeerTengoku ran a contest offering free Japanese craft beer for simply connecting with them via the blog and various social media sites. Much to my surprise, I received an e-mail last week letting me know I was the winner of the contest!
BeerTengoku is easily the go-to English-language site for the burgeoning craft beer scene in Japan. It’s run by ex-pats who noticed the lack of information available in English and they’ve filled the gap admirably, featuring beer reviews, interviews with craft brewers and details about events all over the country.
My prize arrived last night and featured a great selection of six beers from breweries all over Japan. Once they’ve been enjoyed, I’ll make notes over at the Beer Journal.Here’s the lineup:
House IPA by Tamamura Honten Sake Brewery, Nagano Prefecture
Stout by North Island Beer, Hokkaido Prefecture
IPA by North Island Beer, Hokkaido Prefecture
Smoke & Fire Habanero Stout by Baird Beer, Shizuoka Prefecture
Red Ale by Iwate Kura Beer, Iwate Prefecture
Imperial Red Ale by Ise Kadoya Brewery, Mie Prefecture
This is not your father’s beer. It’s for your kids.
We were walking through the grocery store today when a stack of glass bottles caught my eye. It wasn’t because of the beer bottle shape and the frothy beer mugs on the label though. It was the text on the bottle: kodomo no nomimono or “children’s drink.”
With the growing popularity of non-alcholic beer in Japan during the last decade, a couple of beverage makers decided to get kids in on the action. The beer style marketing is no accident. Neither is the golden color of the beverage with it’s foamy white head—exactly like a freshly-draughted Asahi or Kirin that their parents might drink after a long day at work.
These kids will be in for a surprise when they try their first real beer in regards to flavor. The sparkling beverage tastes like a sweet apple juice, but the first two ingredients are sugar and guarana. The seeds from the guarana fruit contain twice as much caffeine as a coffee bean. All that caffeine and sugar should have them bouncing off the walls like a drunken college student.
When I was a kid, I remember getting candy cigarettes from the grocery store. Some were like eating sweet chalk. Others were packed with bubble gum and when you blew on one end, a cloud of sugar smoke would come out the other end.
Last fall, we enjoyed a day at the Kawagoe Festival, the largest and oldest festival in our little slice of Japan. Check out last year’s post for the festival’s history and a video of the floats.
Otto-san and KenKen watching the parade. Three generations of two different families hosted me for this year’s Kawagoe Festival.
This year’s festival was a different experience. We’ve tried our best to stay in touch with our old neighbors—Tomoko and her two young girls—who moved to another part of town. This past spring, we were invited to a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party with them. Japanese families are multigenerational, tight-knit units, so we got to know some of their extended family as well.
One of the large floats (or dashi) makes its way through a narrow side street in central Kawagoe
We missed out on an invite to Obon in August due to our travels through Asia, but Tomoko reached out last week to extend an invite to Kawagoe Festival. To see the festival through the eyes of locals was truly an honor.
I met the family near the train station at 7 p.m. It wasn’t more than five minutes in before the father-in-law was buying beers for the group.
As we walked through the city, Tomoko pointed out Kawagoe Kindergarten, then pointed to her sister-in-law, herself, her mother and her children. All three generations had attended the ivy-covered school. Pretty cool!
Two of the massive floats meet in the middle of the road, stopping to “battle” each other with music and dance. The float on the right won this particular battle.
We watched the dashi—massive, multi-decked festival floats—as they traveled toward each other down the streets of central Kawagoe. They stopped when they met, “battling” each other with live music and dancing. Tomoko’s sister-in-law indicated which float had “won” the battle.
The kids buy their second bag of cotton candy of the night. Festival time is a time for letting loose.
We wandered through the festival, which fills three square miles of Kawagoe’s shopping streets, for about an hour. The kids loaded up on candy from the various vendors before stopping to take a photo with a police car. Around 8:30 p.m., it appeared we were on our way out.
The kids stop to pose for a photo with the local police
Tomoko said she’d give me a ride home. But first, we stopped at one of the stands where they bought steamed buns—nikuman in Japanese—for all of us.
The family takes a trip down the reflexology foot path leading into Kumano Shrine
The whole group walked and walked until I wasn’t even sure where we were anymore. After about 25 minutes, we arrived at the sister-in-law’s house. They invited me in and everyone started getting comfortable.
It was the first time I’ve ever been in a proper Japanese home. While we’re a little loose with the no-shoes-in-the-house rule, they were not. Shoes were removed in the entry way. No socks on the entryway floor; no shoes in the house. We all washed our hands upon entering. Other than that, it was just like any other home. Comfy couch, television front and center. A piano sat against the wall, serving more as a shelf than a musical instrument.
The father-in-law turned on the TV and brought out a couple more beers—one for me, one for him. The kids started getting out their toys. The mother-in-law headed into the kitchen. It was clear we weren’t going anywhere for awhile.
Hasumi holds her bag of candy, which would be doled out a piece at a time for the rest of the evening
Out came the steamed buns. Then some homemade cheesecake. And some tea. And some mikan oranges. One by one like a four-course dessert set. Hasumi, Tomoko’s youngest girl, brought me pieces of her konpeitō (rock candy), two at a time. Everyone asked questions: What Japanese foods do you like? How do you say __________ in English? Is it OK to say __________?
Around 10 p.m., Tomoko’s mother started looking at her watch. Around 10:30 p.m., we started packing up the kids and made the short walk down the street to Tomoko’s car and headed home.
I thanked them profusely for all of their kindness and went inside… an authentic Japanese festival experience in the books.
Over the weekend, we took a trip north to the beautiful Nikko region. On our way to the train station, we bumped into our neighbor who has looked out for us since we arrived in Japan.
We made a point of finding a small gift to bring back to her from Nikko. Omiyage is a huge component of Japanese culture. It’s common to bring back a small gift for your friends or co-workers when you travel. Every train station and tourist town is packed with omiyage shops.
Edible items are the most popular, usually the local speciality. We brought her back a small bag of Nikko Cheese Eggs. Despite the exotic name, it’s just a small piece of delicious cheesecake wrapped in a piece of pastry.
Gift-giving is often a reciprocal experience. When I delivered the cheese eggs to our neighbor, she asked if I liked daikon, a large white winter radish. She returned with a daikon from her garden and two persimmon from the tree in her yard.
As she handed me the 15-inch-long daikon, she made a motion indicating she just pulled it out of the ground with great effort. I immediately had a flashback to my youth.
Toad, from Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. 2, was an avid daikon picker
At least now I know where the Nintendo game designers got their idea for Toad… real-life Japanese gardeners!
The sound of the rustling leaves told us something was lurking nearby. We wandered deeper into the camphor trees, acorns cracking under our feet. We knew he was nearby… any minute now, we’d find Totoro.
Totoro, of course, is a large cat-like spirit who stars in My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ), one of writer/director Hayao Miyazaki‘s famous animated films. Totoro gained some fame among fans of Japanese animation in the U.S. when Disney dubbed the film into English in 2005, but the movie and its characters are deeply engrained in Japanese pop culture.
I’d never heard of Totoro or Miyazaki before coming to Japan. I’d kind of heard of another Miyazaki film, Spirited Away, but only because of its 2002 Academy Award win for Best Animated Feature. Turns out they’re just two of many wildly popular and successful films in the Studio Ghibli catalog.
Last week accidentally turned into a Totoro pilgrimage. We’d been trying to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum for a few months. Tickets are limited to a certain number per day and usually sell out weeks in advance. We finally managed to score a pair for the last entry on a Sunday afternoon.
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Totoro and the susatawari (small black dust spirits) greet visitors at the gates of the Studio Ghibli Museum
A sign featuring a peeking Totoro points the way to Mitaka City’s Studio Ghibli Museum
A little girl dressed as Kiki from the Miyazaki film Kiki’s Delivery Service at the Studio Ghibli Museum
We found the robot from Castle in the Sky atop the Studio Ghibli Museum’s roof
We caught our first glimpse of Totoro as we entered the gates of the museum. While photos are not allowed inside, the museum’s exterior grounds offered plenty of fun photo opportunities. Inside, kids of all ages geeked out over a mix of exhibits showing different animation techniques, Miyazaki’s workspace and interactive opportunities for everyone. There’s even a film made specifically for the museum called The Whale Hunt (くじらとり).
Our Totoro adventures didn’t end at the museum though. We’ve been trying to milk the end of summer by heading out for some local hikes. While looking for something new this week, we stumbled on something called Totoro’s Forest. About 10 miles to the south of us is 8,650 acres of woodlands known as Sayama Hills.
More famously, it’s the inspiration for the lush, magical forest scenes from My Neighbor Totoro. The Totoro no Furusato Foundation has been working to preserve the area’s natural beauty over the past 25 years. If we were going to find Totoro, it seem like this was the place to do it.
The 100-plus year old Kurosuke House offered inspiration to Miyazaki and also serves as the offices of the National Trust Totoro Fund
The wandering soot spirits (susatawari) decorate a small museum at Kurosuke House dedicated to the local forests
Totora peeking out of the back room of the Kurosuke House
At Kurosuke House, we first spotted the acorns. We knew we were hot on Totoro’s trail now!
Our first stop was the Kurosuke House. The 100-year-old home is a perfectly-preserved example of early 20th-century Japanese homes and also served as inspiration for some of the home scenes in Totoro. The foundation runs a small gift shop inside and offers maps of the local area.
A basket on the outside porch contained several acorns. One of Totoro’s plot devices is how one of the girls in the movie finds a trail of acorns, which eventually lead them deep into the forest and to Totoro.
The first sign! Information about Totoro Forests #20 and #21.
On the path through forest 20, we found more acorns. Totoro must be nearby…
Crossing the mud bog that provides the majority of Saitama’s mosquito population
We were distracted by this cool looking bridge which led us deep into Not-Totoro’s Forest
After stumbling through the woods and fighting off man-sized spiders, we finally found a gate out of the woods. This sign let us know we had gone the wrong way… “This is not Totoro’s Forest”
We left Kurosuke House and headed down the road to the Tokorozawa campus for Waseda University. Just off its camphor tree-lined path was the trailhead for the first two Totoro Forest sections. We headed up the narrow mosquito- and spider-ridden path, seeing the irony of this hike taking place within spitting distance of the university’s paved bike path.
We started to see more acorns on the ground, seemingly laid on the trail as if they wanted to be followed. We stayed with the trail, crossing a mudbog that seemed to be the source of all of Japan’s mosquitos before arriving at a fork in the path. Straight ahead was a sightseeing spot. To the left, a scenic wooden footbridge leading deeper into the forest. Not wanting to get too far off the trail, we followed the footbridge.
Turned out that was the wrong decision. The sightseeing path would have taken us along the path indicated on our cartoonish map of the area. Instead, we wandered into knee-deep grass. Giant spiders weaved traps between every tree. Too far to turn back, we headed for a fence in the distance. We finally found a gate and exited back to the road. A sign on the outside of the fence read “トトロの森でわありません” or “This is not Totoro’s Forest.”
We wandered around the edge, walking in circles for the next hour before finally finding our route again. Covered in fresh mosquito bites, broken spider webs (and, it turns out, an actual spider!), I was ready to cash in this “hike,” but we trekked on. Totoro was still out there…
A view of Tokorozawa City from the hillside. Miyazaki lives in Tokorozawa.
A tea plantation in the hillside.
The sun begins to set over Tokorozawa
A meadow of camphor trees similar to the one Mei followed into Totoro’s forest home
Yamanokami Shrine was inspired a scene in Totoro
Things started looking up as we headed up into the hillside. Scenes familiar from the movie started to pop up. A lone camphor tree in a meadow recalled the gateway to Totoro’s forest home. A small shrine in the woods was reproduced in the film. From the top of the hill, we could see over Tokorozawa City. Rumor has it that Totoro’s name came from Miyazaki’s niece mispronouncing the city’s name as “Totorozawa.”
Kotiya-san, an artist with an eccentric style, came out to greet us along the path. He gave us one of his pinwheels made from old water bottles.
As the sun began to set, we knew we had better pick up the pace if we wanted to find Totoro. The houses were few and far apart in this area, but as we approached the stretch run, we came to a home with several eccentric pieces of art decorating the fence. The owner, Kotiya-san, came out to greet us. He gave us one of his pinwheels made from old water bottles and sent us on our way.
Is it Totoro?
It was just down the street from Kotiya-san’s house when we saw it. The fur. The big eyes. The ears… is it Totoro? Close, but no cigar! Likely a creation of Kotiya-san himself, a life-size version of Totoro known as Tokoro-chan made mostly from old fir branches.
We headed back into the forest one last time. The dark path was carved out of the ground with trees rising high above on both sides. There’s a scene in the movie when the family comes out of the woods that was clearly inspired by this stretch of forest.
Entering the world of Totoro
We emerged on the other side without an actual Totoro sighting, but we definitely stepped into Totoro’s world for a day. What a beautiful world it is!
Walking Guides
Walking guides of the area are available via the Totoro Fund website. The maps are only available in Japanese and lack some of the detail you’d want from a hiking map.
We followed map #3 from Kurosuke House to the Saitama Green Forest Museum. (For a custom Google Map, click here.) If you go during the summer or early fall, I’d suggest long pants and long sleeves to keep the mosquito bites to a minimum.
The changing of the seasons in Cascadia are marked by important events. We know springtime is right around the corner when you spy someone in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops on a sunny day even though it’s only 42 degrees outside. The beginning of fall is accompanied by talk of Ducks and Beavers while waiting in line for a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.
In Japan, each new season is marked by the blooming of flowers. Cherry blossoms and wisteria in the spring, irises and hydrangea in the summer and now red spider lilies are popping up in gardens all over town.
Red spider lilies at Kinchakuda-Manjushage Park in Hidaka City
In nearby Hidaka City, an annual festival is held at Kinchakuda-Manjushage Park along the Koma River to celebrate the blooming of the lilies. The vibrant red flowers are in strong contrast to both their spring-green stems and the green canopy of the meadow in which they grow.
Click any photo below to view as a slideshow. Scroll down for festival details and video from the day.
Many people took advantage of the beautiful weather and scenery to spread out a picnic.
Locally-made miso paste and soy sauce mixed with rice. Unique and delicious!
One of the many jangseung (Korean totem pole) found throughout Hidaka. The city has a long history with Korea, dating back to the settlement of refugees in the 8th century.
Thanks to the passer-by who snapped a photo for us. It almost looks like there’s nobody else there…
Every once in awhile, a white lily would poke its head out amongst its red brethren.
Only in Japan: Komatsuna (Japanese mustard greens) and apple frozen yogurt. Odd, but tasty!
A large black swallowtail butterfly was a popular target for the point-and-shoot photographers.
Outside the Orugon Dou (オルゴン堂) natural yeast bakery, one of the many interesting buildings in old Hidaka.
The path winds through the middle of the flowers, letting visitors get right up close and personal.
Red spider lilies at Kinchakuda-Manjushage Park in Hidaka City
Looking out over the meadow of lilies.
A view of the Koma River with red spider lilies growing beside the bridge.
The girl has a “you’re kidding me, right?” look about feeding her carrot to the donkey.
Local food, beer and crafts a plenty at the Kinchakuda Festival in Hidaka City, Saitama.
First stop was lunch at Alishan Organic Cafe, one of our favorite cafes in Japan. Choosing from a smaller festival menu to handle all the visitors, we had donburi and seasonal veggie curry. It’s right next to the park, so if you visit the festival, check out Alishan!
A young girl feeding grass to one of the horses at the neighboring farm. The farm is right on the edge of the park and is open to the public during the festival for rides and pets.
This pair in full costume were being filmed both by a professional photographer and videographer. In 2014, a dozen films and television shows were filmed in Hidaka City.
Several cartoon-style dolls were arranged beside the path near Koma River. Everyone with a camera stopped to snap some photos of the very strange, yet also very Japanese, scene.
Looking out over the meadow of lilies.
Captured with the GoPro, this horse would do a lap around its pen, returning back to the rail to see if anyone had brought a treat. Usually a child with a carrot or grass wasn’t far away.
The Kinchakuda Festival (website in Japanese) runs every weekend from now through October 4, 2015. They have lots of great local food vendors, live music and the nearby farm offers horse rides and a petting zoo.
Finding really good beer in Japan can be a bit of a crapshoot. We’ve learned to enjoy tolerate the mass-produced lagers and rejoice in the discovery of good local craft beers. This makes it hard to pass up events like this week’s Keyaki Autumn Beer Festival in Omiya, Saitama.
Featuring nearly 100 stalls featuring mostly Japanese craft breweries, the two annual Keyaki Festivals (we attended the spring festival last year) are a beer lover’s dream. We missed the spring festival this year and nearly missed the fall festival when we were tipped off by the local Rogue Ales distributor of its goings-on.
If you’re in the Saitama area, the festival continues through September 23, 2015. Check out the excellent Beer Tengoku blog or the Keyaki Festival site (Japanese only) for more details.
Over the course of a couple hours, we worked our way through several quality Japanese and American beers. Enjoy the rundown!
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale Elysian Brewing Company • Seattle, WA USA IBU: N/A ABV: 6.7% ★★★
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
The Cascadian beer market is flooded with pumpkin-infused beers this time of year, but despite the popularity of kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) in cooking, it doesn’t seem to make its way into brewing recipes. Fortunately, one of the importers brought some Night Owl Pumpkin Ale from Elysian Brewing in Seattle. The Night Owl is how I want pumpkin beer to taste—like someone dumped a pumpkin pie into a good quality ale. Elysian uses 150 lbs. of pumpkin in each batch and flavor it with traditional pumpkin pie spices. The result is magic.
NoLi Jet Star Imperial IPA NoLi Brewhouse • Spokane, WA USA IBU: 115 ABV: 8.1% ★★★
In the category of “go big or go home,” our next beer was an 8.1% ABV 115 IBU Imperial IPA from Spokane, Washington’s NoLi Brewhouse. The Jet Star IIPA dry-hops Chinook and Cascade hops to give that extra piney flavor and just enough citrus to balance the bitterness. We tend to give IPAs preferential treatment since they’re so hard to come by over here, but this one really hit the spot. The high IBU makes it a slow-drinker, which gave us plenty opportunity to be discerning about our next choice.
We didn’t try Baird’s beers this time around since they have easily-accessible tap houses throughout the Tokyo metro area, but we did sample some of the hot peppers they scored at the festival. We did NOT try the Carolina Reapers; the reigning champion for hottest pepper on the planet coming in at 2.2 million scovilles, six times hotter than a habanero pepper.
The guys at the booth for Japan’s oldest microbrewery seemed a little bored when they waved us over and asked us to try their Koshihikari beer, made from Koshihikari rice, the most expensive grain in Japan. They even poured a very generous sample while waiving the 500 yen (about $5 USD) price tag. This was one of the more unique beers of the day and really held its flavors coming right from the tap. The lager itself was very light and refreshing, but the rice gave it an earthiness that was surprisingly pleasant. I’ve read mixed reviews about the canned version, but I enjoyed the draught version quite a bit.
I was empty-handed and the word “smoked” jumped off the sign at Outsider Brewing’s booth. Served by owner Mark Major himself, the smoke flavor of the small-batch special came through right away, making me want to chase it with some gouda and bread! The more I drank, the less pronounced the smokiness; I’m not sure if I just got used to it or it dissipated. But, I’m still saying “love it” for the first several smoky, malty goodness sips.
By the time we made it to Chateau Kamiya’s booth, we were teetering on done; both full of beer and a little fuzzy. The Ibaraki-based brewery/winery/gardens offered a little palette cleanser in the form a seasonal 3% ABV Cranberry Lager. Light, tasty and a perfect break for what was still to come.
I have a soft spot for Kanagawa’s Shonan Beer thanks to the Orange IPA we enjoyed last fall in Osaka. The Lemongrass Hopper looked intriguing, infusing local ingredients into what I knew would be a good beer base. The lemongrass and wheat flavors really came through without being overpowering. A good penultimate beer for the day.
Breakside India Golden Ale Breakside Brewery • Milwaukie, OR USA IBU: 60 ABV: 8.1% ★★★
Our last stop was a personal one—the booth of the aforementioned importer who turned us on to Yellow Ape in Osaka and let us know about this festival. Unfortunately, he was out and about when we stopped, but fortunately they still had beer! It seemed fitting to wrap up our day with some home cooking and Oregon’s Breakside Brewery’s IGA seemed the perfect end to a perfect day. Originally brewed as a partnership with Eugene, OR’s Ninkasi Brewing and typically a spring seasonal, this double IPA gets tropical notes from Mosaic, Eldorado and Chinook hops while balancing the piney notes without overpowering. The 8.1% ABV was officially the death knell for our day at the festival, but what a way to go!
It’s always interesting returning home after a long trip. Everything is familiar, but everything seems different at the same time. While we were away from Japan, summer turned to fall. The kinmokusei has begun to bloom, filling the air with a light citrus scent. But Japan’s ability to surprise us never seems to change.
A few nights ago, we heard some activity in front of our apartment. It was already dark and the noise of kids playing was unusual. Viktoria poked her head out the window to see what was happening and spotted our neighbors from the next building.
The boy is one of our favorite kids in the neighborhood. He’s really respectful and always says hello when we see him. One day Viktoria gave him some candy she brought back from the U.S. A couple minutes later, he rang the doorbell, holding a bag of Japanese cookies—the obligatory reciprocal gift.
His mom is great too. The first time we really talked to her was when she rang our doorbell as a member of the neighborhood association. She had come to collect the annual dues (about $5 USD) and had taken the time to prepare a receipt in English along with a few phrases to help us understand what services are supported with the funds. A couple months later, she eased my fears about the announcement being belted out of a helicopter flying overhead (not an impending zombie apocalypse, just an advertisement).
Me and the neighbor kid… his mom probably has the picture where we’re looking straight ahead!
Anyway, when they saw Viktoria, they waved us downstairs. They had enough fireworks to outdo Washington D.C.’s Fourth of July show! We asked what the occasion was and they said it was a holiday, but despite all my research and even some crowdsourcing, I have no idea what they were celebrating.
Viktoria, one of the friends and our neighbor light yet another sparkler…
A couple of his classmates and someone’s little brother were also there with their mothers. Our neighbor kid was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, making sure everyone had a sparkler in hand at all times. I bet we each burned a dozen sparklers apiece.
They sang a little song all night that went “ha-na-bi no chi-ka-ra,” meaning something along the lines of “the power of fireworks,” but they sang it in a sweet voice that made it seem like a bit of an inside joke.
At the end of the night, they handed out some candy. Viktoria ran upstairs and grabbed some Halloween candy we’d just bought—you know, reciprocal! We went back upstairs with a “what just happened” feeling, but also happy to be included in what seemed to be an end-of-summer tradition.
Here’s a few more photos from the evening. Enjoy!
Two of the kids light up another round of sparklersThe little boy was probably four or five years old, but was lighting sparklers like a seasoned veteran.This kid wasn’t sure what to think of us at first, but he warmed up after a bit.
Today marks the official beginning of the Japanese holiday of Tanabata. Tanabata (七夕) translates to “Evening of the Seventh” and celebrates the once-a-year meeting of star-crossed lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi (read their story here or watch the video at the end of the post).
The legend says if it rains on Tanabata, the two lovers must wait until another year to meet. But a light sprinkle didn’t stop thousands of Tokyoites and tourists from heading out for a day of celebration.
Tokyo Skytree is the backdrop for the Shitamachi Tanabata in Kappabashi
We chose the Shitamachi Tanabata in Tokyo’s Kappabashi District in the shadow of the Tokyo Skytree. More than half-a-mile of street was closed off to traffic and lined with vendors serving all sorts of festival fare, including a rare vegetarian treat—deep-fried soybean “meat” on a stick!
A surprisingly decent beer made with small chunks of asparagus.
Watching people eat awkwardly-large slices of watermelon
Grilled squid—ikayaki
Melon, stuffed meat pockets on a stick and marinated gourd on a stick
“Frankfurter… you must not eat it!”
One of the traditions of Tanabata is to write a wish on a piece of paper and tie it to a bamboo tree. Trees and bamboo branches lined the street, each fully decorated with the wishes of children and adults alike.
Our Tanabata wish: “If Lost, Return to Japan”
The festival happened to fall on July 4, which is also America’s Independence Day holiday. July 4th celebrations often include local parades, so it was a cool coincidence that we got to see a parade that day. After the first group passed, people headed back into the street and we thought it was over. But a few minutes later, everyone headed back to the curb and another parade group would pass through. This continued several more times until the last parade group passed through. Very efficient!
The start of the Shitamachi Tanabata Parade
The powerful and impressive Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Women’s Drum Corp
If you saw this police motorcycle pulling up behind you, would you stop? Also, trying to convince my brother this would be a good luck for his Hog.
Women leading the traditional tanabata dance… it was high-energy and involved a lot of call-and-response with the crowd.
Even the men got into it!
These festivals always offer a lot of opportunities for the kids to have fun. While many sat alongside the road, enjoying their treats, several participated in the parade. We felt bad for those little legs having to make the hike from one end of town to the other.
A group of kids carry a mikoshi (shrine float) down the parade route.
Taking a popcorn break on the curb
There’s nothing cuter than chubby kids eating ice cream
A young trumpeter working hard on a humid day
Adorable boys and girls marching in the parade
Kappabashi literally means “raincoat bridge.” In the old days, residents of the area would hang their raincoats on the nearby bridge to dry. However, “kappa” is also the name of a mythological bird-like creature (interesting story about the kappa) thought to live in Japan’s rivers. In those same old days, farmers would make agreements with the kappa to ensure good irrigation for their farms. Kappabashi uses the kappa as its neighborhood mascot and the image appears all over town on banners and carved wooden statues. Two live-action kappas wandered the parade, one kid-friendly and one with the more menacing appearance of the kappa from folklore.
Young men in samurai costumes are always a draw!
The kid-friendly kappa
A more “realistic” kappa
After the parade, we headed for the Kanda neighborhood to check out a craft beer bar. Devilcraft is run by American ex-pats from Chicago who brought their city’s famous pizza with them.
Chicago-style deep dish pizza and craft beer at Kanda’s Devilcraft.
We sat at the bar and enjoyed an awesome deep-dish veggie pizza and a couple American craft-beers. Two guys came in a few minutes after we arrived and took the seats next to us at the bar. One of them spoke great English (he’d done a homestay in Minnesota as a child) and we struck up a conversation over dinner.
Turned out he was a blacksmith specializing in Imperial-era Japanese swords called katana. His craftsman name is Kanemasa the second. His master, Kanemasa the first, passed away a few years ago at age 88 after 78 years as a sword maker. That’s right… he started at age 10!
Kanemasa the second has made swords for some pretty impressive clients, including the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. He has photos on his website in the Royal Palace presenting the katana to the Prince.
