Culture Shock at its Finest: 3-Day Weekend in Tokyo

There was no school on Monday due to Japan's National Holiday, 'Respect for the Aged' so I decided to spend my 3-day weekend in Tokyo. 5 years ago, I had my first trip to Japan for a 6 week summer homestay experience in Meguro-Ward, Tokyo. I stayed with a family of 5, the Sasahiras. Since then, I have kept in touch with them and my Okaasan has even visited me in Searcy after freshmen year in college. The timing of this holiday was great because there was the last of the summer festivals very near the Sasahiras' home and the oldest daughter was having a BBQ on Monday. Needless to say, the vacation was refreshing and a great, fun time!

This is Ms. Yamada. During my summer homestay, she was the supervisor of all homestay students in the area. She came to visit for a little while.

This is my wonderful Okaasan, Mrs. Sasahira. I call her Okaasan because that is the Japanese name for "mother". Already, she has taken such good care of me! And she keeps FEEDING me too! More details to come.

Wednesday was my birthday, so Okaasan bought me a yukata and obi! Here I am in my yukata, the summer version of a kimono. The obi is the blue (and silver... it's reversible) sash that is tied into a bow in the back. Also, this is the end of the summer festival season so many stores are having sales of yukata merchandise so we got mine for really cheap! :D Yay! The festival was on Saturday night and most people attend wearing the traditional yukata and so I fit right in!
5 years is a long time to be away from a second family. In the meantime, I seem to have "inherited" a niece, Yurie. Okaasan "adopted" a family that is friends with her oldest daughter, Kanako. Yurie is their oldest child. They are expecting a baby boy on Friday to be named Akio. The mom, Marjorie, is Brazilian, and the father is Japanese (can't remember his name, sorry!)

AND, I have a new brother-in-law, George. He is an American in the Navy and is married to Kanako, my older host-sister. At the end of September, they will move to his new station in Hawaii!!!!!!!!! Here he is dressed in the traditional hakama, the men's version of a yukata. The patterns on the yukata and the colors usually infer the age of the wearer. Yurie has many vibrant colors on a brighter background while mine is a black background but with bright colors of blue, lime, and soft purples. As the person gets older, the yukata colors become more subtle and subdued. Trust me, it was SO HARD to find a yukata that was small enough for me yet sophisticated enough to look fit for a 23 year old. ACK! I'm 23!!! So since the yukatas were on sale, Okaasan bought me an adult size yukata and hemmed it with her sewing machine. Amazing.

And finally, the actual festival! There are SO MANY games stands and food stands and SO MANY PEOPLE!!! This game is to use a fragile paper wand to scoop plastic toys into a bowl. The more toys that get in the bowl determine the awesome-ness of prizes you can earn.

No, the aren't snakes... stop freaking out... they are only eels. In this game, the kids fish for the eels with fishing lines that are very fragile. So you have to be sneaky and can't jerk the fishing line or it will break. If you catch one, you get to eat it for dinner the next day. P.S.~ I LOVE EEL (called unagi) over a huge bed of rice with a sweet soy sauce on top and seasoning. MMMmmmm!

It seems that all the games have fragile wands or strings. This game is no exception only the point is to catch a lot of goldfish. No matter how many (or no-many) goldfish you catch, you get to take home two!

My host-sister, Kanako, and George gave it a try. Kanako was VERY GOOD and Yurie and I watched on.

One example of the many things we ate. It was a simple mixture of sugar, syrup, and baking soda. When the pans were set aside, they puffed up! And the taste was light and fluffy and slightly crispy.

By the way, the festival actually lasts TWO days! The next afternoon, we went back to watch many neighborhoods bring their smaller versions of the main shrine. I am standing in front of one to be carried by children.