Summer Festival in Akiyama

We held summer festival of my local area at August 14. At first, I just We held annualwant to say to my friends helped to prepare the festival that thank you for spending their time. It goes without saying that we enjoyed it much but many people took part in it and seemed to enjoy it. My local area doesn’t have many jobs so many people go to big city to look for their jobs. Now the population of my village is decreasing and my village has a high proportion of elder people. If you would live here, you must have been able to get many friends!

This year, I also planed all of schedule and events of this festival. For children, I asked a magician. For young people, some musician and entertainers. For elder people, a musician who can sing some Japanese traditional songs. And for everyone, we prepared so big fire works as last event of this festival! They were very beautiful and powerful. Many people gave a shout of joy and I was also able to enjoy them without anxiety if we could success this festival and fatigue.

I acted as one of most responsible persons of the members and I made much time to plan prepare for it. It was not easy to make time because my job is busy. It may be regardless of business depression. I envy when I was a student. But I must have been unable to hold it without my friends and enjoy it without my friends. I appreciate them and I have been enjoying my life with them, too.

I found an old man riding on a wheelchair in the venue. He was close to main stage and seeing events and performances on the stage for himself for long time. His skin was tanned and he looks very cheerful but I thought he couldn’t walk because his feet were strange shape. I have seen him last year so I wanted to talk with him and I asked him before fire works.
“Where are you from?”
He answered.
“Yokohama!”
It is so far from here! I asked.
“How did you come here?”
He said.
“By train!”
“Why? It was no easy matter to come here by train riding on a wheelchair, wasn’t it?”
“I live in Yokohama but I was born here! Last year, my wife took me here by her car! But my wife died this year! So I came here by train!”
I was unable to laugh but he did. Suddenly he seized my arm and made me take his arm. The tanned arm was so big and hard! He said to me.
“I’m pretty good! So I will come here next year and I am look forward to this festival next year, too.”
I was very glad. I had a great complement, I think. You know, fire works after that were soooo beautiful!!!

This is “Taisyokoto”. It is Japanese traditional musical instrument. We asked local old women to play that.











This is “Yosakoi”. It is Japanese traditional dance and poewerful. They are also local old women.











This is “an antertainer”. I negotiated him to play with very little money. He was popular among children.











This is “Japanese traditional singer”. I also negotiated her to sing with very little money. She was popular among old people.











This is “Bonodori”. It is also Japanese traditional dance. We made a circle and danced together.











These are our members, my friends. We did campfire after this festival and we enjoyed to hit faces with pie made from fresh cream!

Summer starts

My cousin and his children went to my home last weekend and it had been while that I saw my cousin’s children. It was so fine day so I remembered best goods for such a summer day. It was water pistols! I gave them my water pistols and we played using them. I was surprised they had grown very much! It was not only body but also mind. Though they had been well behaved before, they were good at making fun of their parents using strange words and water pistols. It was fun but my cousin’s clothes were dripping wet. I’m sorry. My cousin had to dry his clothes before he went home.











After I played with the children, I picked my local friends up to our river though I thought it was a little bit early to swim in the river. It was first time in this year. It was not cold than I expected but I cannot swim for a long time. In summer, we always go to the river and to swim, to jump from the small bridge and to catch fishes. This movie is Tsubasa jumping into the river. His weight is about 0.1t so the jumping is sort of bomb.





This photo is tool to catch fishes. I have used them for a long time. You see one water glass and two sticks. The two sticks are not same, one of them has a fishhook at the tip and I can catch swimming fishes to hook the back of them. Another is a normal spinner and I use this when fishes are at standstill so I change my tools for the condition of fishes. This is the fish we were able to catch!

I am busy to play with my fellow workers and local friends. In addition, I got to have more responsible jobs in office recently so I have no time to spend for myself and I feel a day too short! I hope a day would have 30 hours.








Happy birthday to your mom! I’m sorry that she didn’t remember who celebrate her but it was so nice that many people did. She must have felt your blessing! For me, I think I can work now and associate with lots of great people like you by the glance of my parents. I want to treat them with respect and I have to.

Here is by Mt. Fuji so high place, they say that here is a summer resort but it’s very hot! The air conditioner in my office only when it is over 82.4 degrees! My company seems to like ECO but it must be for cost cut!

Did you get iPhone?

Birthday

Friday

How early aging is! I became 25 years old at May 23. So my friends and I drank at the wolf bar in my company after work. It was the same as normal Friday. Then I heard very surprising news from my cousin, Shoichi. It was that his baby was born at May 23 so it’s my birthday and it can only described as miracle! I’m very happy and I wish him the best of luck! The baby’s name is Taichiro. The kanji of it is similar to mine a little.

Saturday

My local friends and I had a birthday party for Ikko and me. He was also close to my birthday and he seemed to be 40 years old. We are not so close age but good friends always we play soccer. We have a game next weekend. So we told about formation and strategy for it. We will do our best so win the game!

To our joy, Kouichi had prepared two presents for us. You see they were two same T-shirts. We took some photos, first are we wearing matching T-shirts, and second are Koichi family! The little girl is Nastume who is his child and the woman is his wife, Dona. I play with her whenever I visit Kouichi family so she is attached to me.

Sunday

My parents and I went to a hospital where Taichiro was to see him and say congratulation! The baby in photo is Taichiro. There were many babies around him and some of them were crying, others were sleeping but he sometimes looked us with a smile. He is very cute! My farther told us the baby was similar to Shoichi who is farther of the baby many times. The baby is too small to judge who he is similar to, I tought.

Izu Trip

My friends and I took a trip in Izu Peninsula with motorbikes for three days. It was great trip! At first, I introduce about Izu to you simply. It is wonderful peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture and it has very beautiful beaches on the Pacific Ocean, many hot springs and strange flowers and plants because Izu Peninsula used to be a small island in the Pacific Ocean anciently. It seemed to move for Japan so slowly and finally collide with the main island of Japan. Some strange plants seem to inhabit warmer area than Japan. Izu Peninsula is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in Japan for the seasons stated above.

Our purpose was to go around Izu Peninsula and to take some outside hot springs. We didn’t book any hotels because we like adventure. So I brought my tent, bedroll and a few changes of clothes, and what I had done before departure was research about outside hot springs only.

First day

My friend, Yabe, and I left for Izu at 10:00 carrying very big rucksack with motorbikes. We stopped two places on the way to Izu.

One is Shiraito Waterfall by Mt. Fuji. The water is melted snow of Mt. Fuji so it was very clear and cold. We enjoyed the magnificent flow of water.
















Next, we visited Asian Craft Shop AOKI. The shop’s owner is a friend of Hung who was my guide in Vietnam so I kept Hung’s present for him so went there to give him the gift and to say Hi! You can see some works of art drinking some coffee in the shop. If you like some works, you can buy it. It looks modern exhibition. The owner welcomed us. It was kindness of him to treat two coffees for us. We saw some works and pictures. There were colorful and modern works as well as Asian craft. I had never been to such a cool shop but I want to go to some shop like AOKI and to see a lot of wonderful works positively because It may be good for my brain and make my sensitivity be better, I think. Anyway, the shop was good so that I want to go there again. It’s not so far.

It began to rain when we left the shop.

It was start of trouble.

It became hard rain as soon as we left and the wind was getting strong gradually. Then it was so far, about 100km to the first hot spring. We concentrated on driving for a long time. The hard rain hit our faces, it was so painful that we were unable to speed up.
It was getting dark and we began to run a long mountain road. My motorbike is so old and broken a little that water entered the engine from an inlet duct. The condition was very bad. Sometimes it stopped but there was a mountain road so we had no one to depend on.

We were drenched to the skin and so cold. We managed to get down and visited a convenient store and drank a coffee but it didn’t work at all. It was until 20km to our destination. We decided to abandon pitching a tent and look for a private hotel near the first hot spring. Exerting all our strength, we left for the destination.

Anyway, we wanted to look for a hotel and take a bath early so that we then the policeman came out in plain directly went to a police box by the hot spring. We said Hi at the entrance clothes. My friend asked him a private hotel that could accept us from even now. It was about 8 pm. He was so nice parson. He took us to a private hotel and asked the owner to accept us. Fortunately, the owner was willing to accept us and bring some towels for us.

At once, we took a bath and warm ourselves. The hot water was same hot spring we wanted to go to. It’s very hot and a little salty. After that we had dinner. The hotel is for staying overnight without meals but the first floor was drinking bar. The bar looked a little strange and interesting restaurant so that the owner cooks foods on an iron plate in our table. The foods were so fresh and delicious that we ate many foods, a squid, seafood and vegetable pancakes and baked boar meat. Of course, we drank much beer. Some local people were drinking beside us. So we talked with them. One of them was a local newspaper reporter and he knows Izu peninsula very well. He gave us some advices. Though it had been very hard a little while ago, we were able to have a good time and meet nice people. I appreciate them very much. We promised to go there again.

Second day

We woke up at 8 am and had a breakfast by the owner. It’s also delicious! Especially, fresh horse mackerel was so good! Then we packed our wet baggage. As luck would have it, it was fine day so we dried some important clothes on our rucksack.

At 10:00. My friend, Kenichi joined us and went to the southest spot in Izu peninsula. We ate broiled corns with soy sauce after a long time. It was also good. Have you cooked like this? If you have never done, please try once! I bet you will like it.
























This photo is our accommodations of second night. Here is close to 24h free hot spring because 3 friends was supposed to join us at midnight so we was able to take a bath every time there. After we pitched tents, we went to special hot spring someone runs so we had to pay about $5 for the bath. It’s really good view! I think more value than $5. You don’t know it was so difficult to take pictures there, because the hot spring was for men and women. I paid attention to young women when I took pictures.

3 friends joined us at midnight and we drank and talked about some troubles. They also seemed to have some troubles, a tire had blown out and they had lost their way…







Third day






















We left for a beautiful beach at 9 am. The sea was clear and beautiful but it was so cool that no one despite of us enjoyed swimming in the sea. We had not seen such beautiful sea for a long time, so we are excited and enjoyed swimming and taking some pictures like children. Do you understand what the last photo means? It means “ the evolution of the human race”. The background is human’s mother, enormous ocean. I like this photo.












Next, we went to a hot spring in mountain. You can take a bath seeing a big waterfall there. In addition, there were some unique baths. We enjoyed them very much. Here is popular sightseeing spot because there were 7 waterfalls and you can see all of them easily by foot. We also walked around there and saw them.

This trip was very interesting and I was able to details of hot springs in Izu Peninsula. I like Izu more than before. I want to try adventures more, I think. However, I got tired a little.

In traveling what one wants is a companion; in life compassion!