Scenes from a Japanese Summer festival

Obon is buddhist festival holiday in which families return to their home towns and honor their ancestors, who's spirits are believed to revisit the family home during the festival. There is a specific dance, the bon-odori done during this time to welcome the spirits back from heaven. Nearly every town in Japan has a summer festival and some do it bigger than others.
My friend Alex, from Philadelphia, came back to his home town, Hachioji, for the summer festival and invited me to come along. I was glad I did, as Hachioji happens to be one of the towns that goes all out.
Hachioji is a large suburban city about 45 minutes West of Tokyo. I live 45 minutes East of Tokyo, and then there is Tokyo itself in the middle to contend with, so the trip took just over two hours each way. When I arrived, Alex took me to meet his uncle who was the guardian of the town's most precious festival symbol, the float shown above. Both the float and the carving of the bird that rides atop it are considered city treasures. When the floats aren't being pulled through the streets as part of a parade, they are on display and host musicians playing drums and flutes. Take a listen:

We had some lunch at a ramen shop and then came back to the town square to see the ice carving competition. The competitors were limited to hand saws, while the winner from last year put on a demonstration with a chain saw. It was in the 90s and the sun was blazing. You could see the melting water cascading down the sides of the statues even as they were being carved. It was a race against time, except for one man on the end who had the only spot in the shade and paused to contemplate his next cut. We theorized that he must have some connections in local government to get that spot under the tree. We had VIP seating at Alex's Uncle's float station to watch the main attraction: an 8' ice carving of a swordfish leaping out of a wave.

After visiting Alex's Grandparents, we strolled the stands along main street and I got a crash course on Japanese Festival food. There were a few familiar items, like cotton candy and hot dogs, but most of it was new to me. I had tried Okonomiaki once before and loved it. It's a pancake stuffed with squid and cabbage, grilled, and then topped with BBQ sauce, mayo and dried fish flakes. I know, it sounds revolting, but you're wrong. It is deceptively delicious. There was plenty of other choices too, as you will see:

Don't worry, this one's a game, not a food.

After sunset, there was a Geisha dance show that was very popular. Alex told me it's very unusual to see an authentic Geisha dance ceremony in public. It is very secretive and normally, you would have to be at a private party with Geisha to witness it. My adult students confirmend this today when I told them the story and they wouldn't believe that I had seen it until I showed them the video. They kept asking, "Outside?!?, they danced outside?" The Geisha apparently gave away the milk for free(so to speak) on this night, and I was glad to witness it.

The music and singing heard in the video were performed live.

I felt a little star struck.

After the Geisha demonstration, Alex and I went for snacks and drinks at an Okinawan style restaurant. Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture in Japan and consists of a series of sub tropical island surround by emerald water and coral reefs. At the bar they had lots of copies of Okinawan magazines and the pictures sealed the deal. Okinawa is absolutely where I am taking my Dad when he comes to visit. The lifestyle seems to be a mix of Japan, Hawaii and San Diego. They served mostly seafood and vegetables at the restaurant, grilled, steamed, raw, fried, it's all delicious. Can't wait to go!

Okinawan style restaurant

Alex and I at the bar.