Fujisaki-Hachimangu Festival

Yesterday was "Respect for the Aged Day", and also the day that the main events of the Fujisaki-Hachimangu Festival were held. In the downtown area, there was a huge parade, lasting most of the day. People dressed in festival jackets ("happi") danced down the street, and people chanted from floats. The focus of the parade was the horses that "danced" down the street. I posted a short video in the entry about Suizenji Park, but here it is again.

Another feature of festivals in Japan is food stalls (屋台）! People set up stands to sell various fried or frozen treats and drinks. There are also games to play and toys for sale. I was most looking forward to takoyaki and taiyaki, and I got to try both! The takoyaki was so great that I didn't get a picture of it before devouring it, and the taiyaki was cold and soggy, so I was disappointed and didn't take a picture. 


Graham and I both enjoyed some shaved ice though! I had mango flavour with condensed milk, and Graham had cola flavour.

I also took a video while we walked down the street with the food stalls. You can see some of the interesting things that were offered. Have a look!

We didn't get much good video of the actual parades, but some other students did, so if I can get a hold of one (or a link), I'll post it here!

Anyway, in the end it was a very eventful weekend, going to Suizenji, shopping, the castle, restaurants, the festival and more shopping. My legs still hurt, but we made a lot of good memories. We're back to orientation now, and classes start on Friday. I or Graham will write a bit about orientation soon, and we'll keep updating as interesting things happen! Stay tuned!