The Asagaya Tanabata Festival

In Japan, each year, there are more festivals that take place than I can count. The summer festival or 夏祭り (natsu matsuri) is what many Japanese people look forward to each year. But it’s not just during the hot summer months, festivals take place throughout the year. Seeing as it’s now the summer time, summer festivals are taking place. One of those summer festivals is known as 七夕 (tanabata). This is a story that doesn’t just reside in Japan, but upon doing some research is one that also apparently happens to reside in China and Korea as well. In Japan, there are a number of tanabata festivals that take place. One of these festivals takes place in an area of Tokyo known as Asagaya. This particular festival seems to be quite well known. Tanabata is a festival that take place on the 7th of July. But this date is in accordance with the old Japanese calendar that’s no longer used. Don’t ask me how, but using the dates on todays calendar, July happens to fall in August, which is why a number of the tanabata festivals take place in August. The tanabata festival that takes place in Asagaya too takes place in August. This is (as I wrote above) a famous festival which I’m sure most people from Tokyo have seen at least once in their life. Seeing as this was my first time viewing this festival, it was exciting to see all the different pieces on display, and was great to enjoy some good food and drink while doing so. This was yet another festival that I enjoyed to my heart’s content.

I don’t need to explain this to Japanese people, but tanabata is a festival that centers around the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi. These stars are only able to meet once a year and do so on the 7th of July. On this day they apparently enjoy a date at the river in the sky. For those wanting to learn more, feel free to watch this youtube video that has English subtitles. I love the culture of Japan, but this year I forgot to write my wish on a special piece of paper known as a 短冊 (tanzaku) and place it upon a tree, which is the main event that takes place on the 7th of July. However, in the apartment that I currently rent, there’s a 達磨 (daruma) that I received from an acquaintance a number of years ago. With a daruma, you draw in its left eye when you have a wish and draw in its right eye when that wish comes true. For a wish to come true, I don’t think that you’re supposed to say what that wish is. But just as many of my friends and acquaintances already know, my wish is to be able to get a full-time job here in Japan, so in January of next year I’ll draw in the left eye of the daruma that I have. Anyways, for those that haven’t seen the tanabata festival in Asagaya, I highly recommend checking it out next year. I happen to live close to Asagaya, so I’ll probably end up going and seeing it again next year as well. 


The main attraction of the Asagaya tanabta festival is all the float-like creations hanging from the ceiling. 



Seeing as I visited this festival on the last day, much of food and drink being sold was at lower prices than usual. This is my favorite 抹茶 (matcha) (powdered green tea) drink!





A famous celebrity known as Matsuko Deluxe.


A character from the Japanese animation Detective Conan.




The famous children's animation Anpanman.


A 餃子 (gyoza) or a Chinese-style fried dumpling.



Orihime and Hikoboshi.


A beer is a must when viewing a festival! 🍻





I snuck in one more beer before anyone noticed.


Chocolate banana! 🍌


The famous robot cat Doraemon!


Curry bread! Yes, fried bread with curry on the inside.

コメント

コメントを投稿

このブログの人気の投稿

The Hokuriku Region

イメージ
Japanese people are ever so stylish. It seems as if many people around the world too find Japanese people to be stylish. Having lived in Japan for about 5 years now, I’ve noticed how good Japanese people are at matching clothes and always looking well dressed. Even if they're clothes from the Japanese clothing store UNIQLO , which one might call the Japanese GAP or OLD NAVY (now with stores popping up all over the world), Japanese people are very good at coordinating the clothing they wear and making themselves look fashionable. Even when just hanging out with a friend, Japanese people take care in what they wear on a daily basis, always look smart and in clothing that suits them. I’m influenced by all of the stylish Japanese people around me and have started to make more of an effort to dress more stylish, and make more of an effort to wear clothes that suit me. But what’s stylish in Japan is not just what people wear. In Japan, buildings are also rather stylish. For those wh
続きを読む

The city of Chofu

イメージ
Originally coming from (as far as I’m aware) Japanese folklore, Japan has what are known as 妖怪 ( yokai ). If you’ve ever read any posts on my facebook , twitter , instagram , or read any other blogs I’ve written then you may have heard about yokai . Yokai are often referred to as Japanese monsters, but seeing as the most famous Japanese monster Godzilla isn’t a yokai , and seeing as there are many yokai that take the shape of humans, animals, and even inanimate objects, explaining yokai as a Japanese monster isn’t 100% correct. For those wanting to learn more about yokai I highly   recommending watching this Japanology Plus episode about yokai , I also recommend reading this book about yokai,  written by translator Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt .   Japanese cartoons, known in Japanese as アニメ ( anime ), which is an abbreviation of the word アニメーション (animation), are incredibly popular all over the world. Many people come to Japan each year because of their interest in these ca
続きを読む

Mt. Takao

イメージ
For those of you from Tokyo, I have no doubt that you’ve visited the city of Hachioji. There isn’t really much to do in Hachioji, so I have no doubt that not so many people from Tokyo have gone sightseeing there. However, what the city of Hachioji does have is Mt. Takao , measuring at 599 meters tall. It’s a very easy mountain to climb and there’s lots of delicious food that can be enjoyed along the way there. Because of this, many people climb it each year. I’ve hear it somewhere, but Mt. Takao is apparently the most climbed mountain in the entire world. Anyway, Mt. Takao is famous for soba, but it doesn’t stop there, there’s also a type of miso soup with nameko mushrooms in it known as なめこ汁 ( nameko jiru ) as well as 三福団子 ( mitsu fuku dango ) , a type of boiled or steamed balls of (rice) flour. It’s not just at the top of the mountain, but you can enjoy a number of foods as you climb up the mountain. Last year an acquaintance of mine from one of the many volunteer trips I’
続きを読む