Last month, right before the Obon vacation, Robin came to visit me in Japan. It was great to see her and to finally have some company from back home; after she left I really started to feel like I was ready to go home. While she was here, she got a chance to go to one of the things I've been looking forward to all year-- the Mito Summer festival.
The festival is called the
Mito Komon Matsuri, named after the feudal scholar and leader
Tokugawa Mitsukuni, who dressed up as a commoner to better understand his people. The name
Mito Komon, was actually more popularized from a TV show that has been making new episodes in Japan since-- wait for it-- 1969! Regardless of it's origin, the Komon Matsuri is the largest festival in Mito, which, kicked off by a huge fireworks display on Friday night, continues three days until the end of the weekend. Finally, I thought, this is a chance to see a ton of Japanese culture I hadn't had the chance to experience.
To be honest, the festival started out as kind of a bust. I spent the Friday night fireworks display fuming to myself at Amity while Robin and my friends got to see the whole thing down at Senba lake. My 7:00 PM student (wisely) skipped class, leaving me with nothing to do but listen to the crashing bass of the fireworks while watching the people outside smile and laugh with each other as they headed to the lake in their cool summer
yukata. Despite all the things I resent about my job, such as long hours or absurd Japanese business customs, that night had to be, by far, the worst. What I originally wanted to get out of coming to Japan was to be a part of a new and exciting culture, and at the time, missing the fireworks was the first situation where Amity was tangibly holding me back. As I listened to the sounds of the fireworks and watched the people walk by outside, I thought to myself about all the things I wanted to do while I was here but hadn't. Whether it was learning Japanese, traveling, or just watching summer fireworks, I thought to myself, "this is life, passing me by while I'm working at Amity."
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| Don't be fooled. I wasn't actually here. |
Two nights later and Sunday was finally here. During the festival, the main road on the north side of the station was completely closed off, as parades of floats (carried by people) walked up and down Mito for hours. The first thing I noticed (besides the traditional masks, songs, and dances going on in every direction), was the complete lack of containment everywhere. People were allowed to walk around in the street, right in front of the parade. It felt so much more alive and interactive than the parades back home; you could just walk up to a float and high-five the kids standing on it without being corralled off into the side of the street. Just about everything you'd expect from Japanese tradition was present, like
Taiko drummers and
goldfish scooping games, as well as a few you wouldn't expect, like the Tokyo Rockabilly Club that flash-danced in the street to
Greece Lightning and the rest of the soundtrack for a whopping
5 hours.
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| Goldfish catching game. Gotta catch that goldfish before the paper net disintegrates! |
Overall, the experience was second to none. We ate great food, ranging from fried octopus balls to pickled cucumbers (which are quite different from pickles, suprisingly). Even better, Robin managed to win at least one of everything from every carnival game. I don't have a link to a better set of pictures, so I'll include a few more on here. Enjoy!
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| Pretty Girlfriend |
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| Me and Yuuta. I see this student everywhere! |
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| The view from above. |
