Home » Japan » Japan Summer of Peace, Love, Festivals, Beer, Mountains, and Rock and Roll

The temperature heats up, the humidity is on overdrive, and all the students are off for the summer. As for me, what summer vacation? Although no students are at school and there is nothing for me to do, I have to be there! I could be traversing the many incredible destinations in Asia, yet I guess instead it has been a summer of saving money, and relaxing in Hiroshima. So, what did I do to fill the rest of my time in July and August? Well, tons! In fact, it was a great summer relaxing, doing fun things, meeting all the new JETs, and definitely doing all things humanly possible to beat the humidity and heat.

Japan Summer of Peace, Love, Festivals, Beer, Mountains, and Rock and Roll

Casey Lary
2007-03-08 21:19:48

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Mihara-ites what we could do. The first problem was that we all learned different versions of the dance, making for a group of foreigners with no rhyme nor rhythm no synchronization for miles. We were quite the sight! Throw in a few chu his, beers, and some face paint and we were
rocking along the streets. Every once in a while we would get in a huddle and yell YASSA YASSA YASSA! We won no prizes but all in all a very fun night.

The third festival I went to was the Pirate Festival. There were no jack sparrows wandering around. Instead there were Japanese pirates, which were dressed up very similar to samurai. We arrived on the island in the late afternoon with just enough time to take a dip in the Seto Inland Sea. Its not Thailand, but definitely refreshing and a way to beat the heat. As the sun set, the festival got started. There were many different dance groups (some good some bad) and taiko drumming (again some good and some bad). As the torches were lit, the Japanese pirates came out, shot their guns, and gave a bunch of speeches, marking their territory on the island. In the distance, these long dragon boats approached the shore as more pirates stormed the beach. It was really really cool. They put on a little show for the audience, and then stormed off back in their boats. The night was finished with a great fireworks show over the sea.

The next day we went back with the intention to get to try to row the dragon boats! But, by the time we got their, the sign ups were full, and were only spectators.

The last festival I went to was the fireworks festival on Miyajima. This was the same festival I went to last year, all lost and still claim to be the hottest day of my life in Japan. This year I toughed the heat (which I surprisingly became used to) and crowds, and wore my yukata to the island. We had a great time watching the fireworks on the island, and managed to see the final set from the boat back to the mainland. ...