NAF Atsugi Bon Odori Festival 2013

I wrote about last year's Bon Odori festival here.  This year, I was excited to be taking part in the festival!  Our husbands were deployed, but the wives of 141 came out to support us!

141 Dancers!

Mrs. Bag-O, our XO's wife, me, CO's wife (COW)

Mrs. Bag-O + Me

141 Wives!

More 141 wives!

Me + Mrs. Bag-O

Our cute bows

NAF Atsugi Dancers doing a dance to Call Me Maybe

Other groups of Japanese Bon dancers were invited to participate in our festival

NAF Atsugi dancers on the stage

Mrs. Bag-O and I ... the photo is blurry but it makes me laugh!

Dancers ... you can see our obi bows and everyone's pretty updos!

Our friend Mrs. Handy

Action shots

More action shots!

Mrs. Bag-O and I

All in all, I am glad I participated in Bon Odori dancing this summer!  It was definitely out of my comfort zone - I am super uncoordinated and hate being in the limelight - but all of the festivals we participated in this summer were a lot of fun.  It was also a great opportunity to learn about a part of Japanese culture that I probably never would have known about had I not moved to Japan.  If you are over here and you have the opportunity to participate, I highly recommend it!

Yasukuni Shrine

On a hot Sunday in July, Mrs. Bag-O and I took the train into Tokyo to go to the Mitama Matsuri festival at Yasukuni Shrine.  The best thing about this shrine, is that it is located just blocks away from the apartment my grandparents lived in when they were in Tokyo in the early 1990's.  We planned to visit their apartment and then head to the festival.   

We had to change our plans though, when we arrived at Ichigaya Station and found that it was POURING rain.  It was so bad, that even the Japanese people (prepared with umbrellas) were waiting it out.  We decided to go back to Shinjuku and find somewhere to have dinner. 

It turned out to be a great side trip because we found that there are TONS of places to eat in Shinjuku without even having to leave the train station AND we discovered that my favorite Thai restaurant from Bangkok has a branch in Tokyo!

After we had stuffed ourselves full of Thai, we decided to try again.  Thankfully, when we reached the entrance to Ichigaya, the rain had stopped.  We made our way to Yasukuni and were not disappointed.  This festival is one of Tokyo's biggest Obon Festivals and is known for the 30,000 lanterns that light the path to the shrine.

Lanterns inside the shrine grounds

The main shrine building

The entrance leading out to the lantern lined path

Standing on the steps of the shrine's entrance, looking out at the lantern lined path

Looking back at the main entrance to the shrine

It was a gorgeous sight!  

I am so glad that the rain let up so we could attend this festival!  Afterwards, we made our way over to 20 Ichiban-cho to see my grandparents old stomping grounds.  It was dark, so I didn't get any good pictures but it was exciting to see that it was still there!  I plan to go back during the day before we leave Japan!

The business card, that opens into a map, for my grandparents

InstaPic!

Gatherings of Japanese Folk Dance for International Exchange

I wrote a few days ago about the Bon Odori festival on our base last summer and about how I was going to be participating this year!  We have already started our practices and even went to Tokyo last weekend to participate in a cultural exchange.  

Mrs. Bag-O and I in Tokyo

The cropped, Instagrammed version of the above pic :)

We had professional folk dance musicians explain their instruments to us

The professional singer talking to us about her "shamisen."  It kind of looked like a banjo to me.

We had been practicing three different dances prior to this event.  The Japanese people at the event showed us the dances and then we all danced together in a big circle.  They also taught us two other dances which were much more difficult than the ones we had been practicing.  We also taught them an American style dance (which was really more like a cheer) to "Call Me Maybe."

It was a lot of fun and we were glad that we went, but if we are being perfectly honest, it went just a tad bit too long.  There was a point in the afternoon where it was obvious we had done everything we had come to do, but they didn't want to end early, so they added some filler.  At that point, I think they should have just let us leave a little bit early.

All in all, I am glad I went.  It was fun to get dressed up in our yukatas and to meet some of the other ladies who are participating in these events with us.  I am looking forward to our next performance at the end of July!