New Places in Tokyo - Part 4 (Festivals)

Steve and Dad need to be holding a beer to really make this picture work!

Part of the fun of living in Tokyo is going to the festivals that seem to happen almost every week.  We're able to go to a few while Mom and Dad are visiting.  The first one we go to is Oktoberfest...but it's not the first one of the year (though Mom chooses to sit this one out because she's still not feeling well and Steve doesn't drink because it's in the middle of the work day...which kind of spoils the idea of Oktoberfest...).  Apparently they also celebrate it in the spring and during the summer.  I'm not sure if it counts as Oktoberfest if they do it at other times of the year, but at least they get a lot of use out of the signs and booths!

Lots of choices - both for food/beer and seating!

We attend on the last day, and there's a drizzling rain, so there aren't a lot of people at first.  One of the benefits of being in Japan - when the rain stops, staff members come out and dry off the tables and benches.  EVERY time, and it seems to stop and start in 15 minutes intervals.  I think in the US you just have to deal with it yourself.

Prost!

We manage to find a table (mostly) covered with a large umbrella, so we can stay (mostly) dry.

We go to the booths to get more food, and Dad thinks of a way to make sure a breeze doesn't carry any rain in to dilute our beer.

Good beer!

The rain doesn't stop the party!  There is a large tent that holds about 100 people, and there's a band, karaoke and dancing.  None of us have had enough beer at this point to join in!

They are singing "Friends in Low Places"....in English.

I wonder if I can borrow her outfit for Halloween?

It's kind of fun seeing a Japanese person dressed up in a "traditional" German dress.


Another great phenomenon about living in Japan - even the extra toilets (port-a-potty trailers) they bring in for the event are the high tech Japanese toilets - heated seats, bidet, music to cover the sound of going to the bathroom, etc.

Yes, I took a picture in the bathroom stall.

I wonder if he get paid in beer?

It's obviously the time of year for beer festivals!  Next we attend the Belgium Beer Week in Roppongi Hills.  And yes, it's still raining, so you get a little wet even though there's a semi-roof to the arena.  And they're still squeegeeing the tables so they'll be dry.  I love the courteousness of the Japanese!

Mom makes it this to this one - but doesn't drink because she doesn't like beer!

See the Japanese pose (by the Japanese guy).

We manage to snag some of the very few seats, and as usual at occasions like this, the other seats don't stay empty for long.  We have a fun group to sit with - some locals and a couple visiting from the US. 


Steve joins us after he gets off work. (He does that occasionally - work, that is.  Well, he drinks beer, too.)

Cheers!

I don't think her outfit counts as "traditional."

Another day we're near Ueno Park when they have Edo Week so we stop by.  This is supposed to be the largest celebration of Japanese culture in traditional Japanese clothes.  Maybe the rain is keeping everyone away - it's not a very big celebration.  There are only about twenty booths, and half of them are your typical food items.  It's fun seeing some people in traditional dress, especially the men, because normally I only see them in kimonos at big religious celebrations.  (Women will wear sometimes wear kimonos for special events like weddings, but men are usually in a suit.)

This might be an "illegal" picture...I don't know if I was
allowed to take pictures of the merchandise.

One of the booths have an obi folded like a flower instead of a bow.  I think it looks very cool, but I've never seen a Japanese women wear hers that way.  Even though this is supposed to be traditional dress, maybe it will start a new style.







One evening we have our very own special experience right at our local park.  The Bon Odori is a dancing party (odori meands dance) where people honor their families and ancestors.  Throughout the summer and autumn different neighborhoods have their own celebrations, with their own little variation on the style of music and dance. 

Maybe with some beer we would have joined in!

Steve would love to be up here, banging the drum.

Another weekend we're able to attend one of the big cultural celebrations - India!  It's almost as large as the Thai Jubilee we attended earlier in the year. 

Why isn't anyone petting the elephants?  They're cute - and won't bite!

"Steve, there are three guys getting ready to jump on you if you touch that pole."

We don't see any of the parades, but they do have some religious processions.  Steve pretends he's going to pick up the shrine, but Dad's not going along with the joke.


There is some Bollywood-style dancing at the performance stage.

I want to join!  Are they giving lessons?

Only in Japan - a naan head.  I don't need to say anything else.

Seriously, you want your child's picture with someone wearing imitation bread on her head?

Of course, there are many, many food and drink booths.  We are experienced festival attendees - we brought the "blue tarp!"  It's definitely needed since there isn't nearly enough seating for everyone.  Luckily we find a shady spot to sit and relax as we snack on different foods and drinks.  The rain even stopped, finally!

You look like locals now!