While I do enjoy living in Japan, there are a few things I won’t miss when I return home;
No zucchini being stocked at my grocery store
Relying on locations being within walking or biking distance (or at least close to a train station)
Having way too many bags of shopping to carry on my bike (I really feel like a pack mule sometimes!)
In any case, the great weekend moments outweigh some of those negatives. And last weekend was no exception.
Friday night saw me attend a wine seminar for the Okayama and South Australia Friendship Association. Being placed on a table filled with only Japanese people (that I did not recognize) I was preparing myself for a very lonely evening, in which I would listen to a wine lecture given in complete Japanese and not understand a word being said. As I settled into this fact, I soon found myself talking to the people sitting either side of me – one a high school English teacher and the second was once a member of the Board of Education. Both spoke very fluent English, which helped to change my expectations of the night. I even received several business cards from the members on my table as we parted ways – thank goodness I’ve managed to leave a good impression on these people!
However, one of the highlights was the wine tasting itself. Being served South Australian wine truly reminded me of home. Of course, my favourite wine was one of the most expensive of the night at around $60 a bottle – Kilikanoon Cavanent Shiraz 2008. I was never an avid red wine drinker, but this smooth taste could definitely change me!
Saturday was Okayama’s famous Hadaka Matsuri (also known as the Naked Man Festival). Before all of you start jumping to conclusions on what this event could be about, let me explain. This event involves only male participants wearing a loincloth (called fundoshi) – and yes that means that their asses are bare! They then crowd around the temple awaiting for 100 ‘lucky sticks’ (bundles of willow strips) to be thrown down for them to catch. The participants almost fight each other for a chance to attain a ‘lucky stick’. Even if someone is lucky enough to catch one, it can be just as quickly snatched away by another. It’s almost like a rugby game! Elbows in backs, pushing, shoving and many people tumbling down the temple stairs! To top it all off, once the sticks are thrown, the lights flash erratically making it only all the more difficult to not just find the sticks, but to also stay on your feet!! If I were a male, I am not sure if I’d feel comfortable with my ‘junk' being that close to everyone else’s. I definitely enjoy my personal space in those situations.
In previous years, some participants have been seriously injured and in some rare occasions, died. Since, the festival has been adapted to minimize such incidents, but it doesn’t mean no injuries could occur. As we walked back to our bus, we noticed a participant (still in his fundoshi) limping away from the temple. Scratches and bruises covered his back, a bandage was above his eyebrow and yet, he was still energetic and excited to have participated in the event. Crazy Japanese!!
To finish the weekend, I joined my teachers on an Udon Tour. Udon is a traditional Japanese dish containing thick noodles, broth, meat and my favourite, raw egg. In Japan, each prefecture (or state) is famous for something. Okayama, for example, is famous for peaches and kibidango (a rice cake treat that featured in the popular folk tale ‘Momo Taro’). Udon is most famous in a prefecture called Kagawa, located north of Shikoku Island. The udon at Kagawa is so popular that restaurants often sell out before 1PM! And once I tasted some, I understood why.
We visited 4 different udon restaurants, in which I only ate at the first three. It is safe to say I ate far too much food that day, but it was definitely worth trying!
Now, you’ll have to excuse me while I go for a long run on the treadmill! Time to work off the udon so I can fit more food in this weekend!!
