Continuing with our Japan bucket list of things to do and see, I really wanted to attend the Nebuta festival up in Aomori. We have missed it every year as it is the first weekend in August and we have been back in the states the past two years during that time. So I was determined to make it happen, but the other problem is the festival is at night time when they light up the giant paper floats and parade down the streets. I knew it would be very difficult with three little kids who usually are asleep at that time to go to a festival that was two hours away, and more than likely do this all by myself since Kyle will be working. Trying to figure out what to do, my friend Lisa mentioned that this year they were doing a day parade on Monday so the judges could see the floats in the daylight and vote on the best float that would be kept while the others are destroyed after the festival. We instantly knew that was our way to see the festival and made preparations to head to Aomori for the afternoon parade.
After the long two hour drive to Aomori, we were all excited to get out of the car. The streets were packed with people, and parking was almost impossible. Thankfully I followed my friend Lisa who also speaks and reads Japanese so she was able to find us a parking spot not too far from the parade and all the festival action. I loaded the kids up in the wagon and we headed down the sidewalk to the side of the street with all the shade since it was a warm afternoon.
Ww got there just in time for the parade to start and found a little section to set up camp. The little Japanese people around us just loved all our kids and kept wanting them to sit with them on their blankets they had laid out on the sidewalks to sit on. The parade was spectacular, and definitely puts our American floats to shame. All these floats were hand made using wash paper and were so elaborate and beautiful, it almost seemed like a crime that they were all going to be destroyed except for one. Each of the floats was pushed by 20 plus young men underneath it who made the floats twirl and rock up and down the street which gave life to the characters displayed in the beautiful washi paper.
This festival and parade is very popular in Japan and specific to the Aomori prefecture. When it was all over and we had our fill of Japanese treats, we loaded back in the car and were planning to stop at the Big Buddha statue on our way back home. The only down side is that we never made it to the Buddha. My kids passed out almost instantly once we got back in the car due to all the fun and excitement, that I just decided it was best to keep driving and head back home. I am so glad that I can now say I attended the famous Nebuta festival! Definitely once in a lifetime event.
Fast forward to the weekend and I signed up to go on a day trip with some of my friends, Ashley J. and Ashley L. who are from our squadron as well. We had prepared for this trip for weeks now and signed up through the base ITT (information travel and tourism) trip and made sure our husbands knew they were on kid duty all day long. We loaded on the bus for the 2.5 hour bus ride to the little town of Tsugaru which is know to be the originating area of the kokeshi doll. Our tour included a tour around the Kokeshi museum, as well as being able to paint our own kokeshi dolls. We had so much fun as just us girls and NO kids. thats right, NO kids! It was so relaxing and enjoyable, and the plus was that both Ashleys and myself love kokeshis.
Next stop on the tour was to see the rice paddy field artwork in Inakadage. The Tanbo art is really impressive, and made entirely of different type of rice plants. The large rice fields are carefully landscaped to create an image once the rice plants grow. This year they even did a couple rock artworks, and I was just amazed at the detail that went into each of the images. I definitely don't have the patience to lay all the little pebbles, or plant the millions of rice seeds to create the masterpieces.
I am glad I finally got to see this since it has been something I have always wanted to go do upon our arrival in Japan but we just have never found the time to go, and Kyle wasn't too excited to go either. Thank you girls trip for helping me check off another bucket list thing for me during our time here in Japan.
The last stop on our tour led us to a traditional and famous Japanese garden. Apparently this garden was the inspiration for a famous Japanese anime movie about little people that live int the forest... I don't know what the movie is called, nor have I ever seen the movie but apparently all the Japanese people know about it. It was a very beautiful garden and very different from western gardens. In Europe and even in America I feel like gardens are very grandeur and symmetrical. The Japanese garden is very natural and highlights elements in nature in the landscape. Overall we had such a wonderful time just us ladies, and even though it felt great to get away from our rug-rats, the best part of the day was coming back home to them.
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