Festivals Galore

Bungotakada's bon festival seen from above

Summer is the season for festivals, and Nakatsu's surrounding area is no exception to this tradition. Although I skipped out on one or two festivals this time around, I did make it to a bon festival and a fire festival. Obon is the holiday where people go back to their hometowns and do a big dance in a circle around a central platform upon which local townsmen/women sing traditional songs. The purpose of the holiday is to remember one's ancestors. This year, I joined a festival in the town of Bungotakada, where two JETs happen to live. It's not too far from Nakatsu. It didn't quite measure up to the bon dance I joined in Gujo Hachiman three years ago, but it was still fun! There was a raffle and the temple owners gave away what seemed like hundreds of dollars worth of prizes!

The dance at Bungotakada

Then, a few weekends ago, I went with a big group of ALTs to a small beach town called Sashiu. We had a barbecue at the beach, and I put my feet in the water; some people got really bad sunburns, but afterward, we went to a nearby town called Usuki. Usuki is known for stone Buddhas carved into local hills' rock walls. You can walk up the hill and stop at the various stone Buddha carvings to pray. I went with the folks I had ridden with from Sashiu to the beach and then to Usuki. We took a little detour in the hills to see what we could see, and we found a cool shrine. After the tour of the Buddhas, there was a small fire festival where festival volunteers lit lanterns of fire on the ground below. It seems a little dangerous, all things considered, since the lanterns were on a grassy area, but nothing bad happened. And also, there was another bon dance a bit beyond the fire area. I had had a bit too much of the dancing at Bungotakada, so I just watched this time. After watching the dance for a while, we went back to the entrance of the festival, where we got some okonomiyaki on a stick! It was delicious. Then, we made time to go to the local bar owned by a guy whose English is really good. The bar was cute and kitschy, and I wish I had taken some pictures... but we had good drinks (I think mine was called El Diablo! but it was very sweet — cassis, lime, ginger ale and gin I think). And THEN, it was time for karaoke. It was kind of too many people for karaoke, as one of my friends said later, but it was still fun.

Stone Buddha in Usuki

Finally, it was time for me and the three people I came with to go back to our hotel in downtown Usuki. Some of the locals, like the bartender, had been talking about how our hotel seemed really sketchy and maybe even haunted. We didn't notice anything creepy until, the next morning when we woke up, S said, "I don't remember my comforter being pink..." and none of us did either. The rest of the bedding in the four-person room was all white, and you'd think we would have noticed if any of them had been different, when we had first checked in. So, a little spooky. Then we made our way back via different trains, and got home safely. Turns out, I lost my inkan on the car ride to the station, but the friend who drove us mailed it to me later! Phew!

Fire!!