Photo collage

A mixed of photos from our Oct 1 -2, 2016 trip to join in the Iwate Aki Matsuri                    

IWATE IWATE IWATE

This is the excerpt for your very first post.

Meeting locals

It was a special treat to join in the Iwate-machi Akimaturi (fall festival) and meet the people who prepared throughout the year for this special festival. We met community and business leaders, students, and others. Getting to talk to locals means a more personalized experience to see and do other things. For example, after returning …

Sake tasting

sake tasting while wearing kimono The way we did it turned out to be fun. I would encourage tours to do it this same way. A bottle was selected by each pair - it was introduced and passed around so everyone got to have a taste. The snacks - each person got to select up …

The kimono experiment

I  call this the Kimono wearing experiment because the salon we went to had clearly never done with someone as large as I am! They seemed quite entertained about the whole process of putting the kimono on me. And i got a kick out of the whole process. We went to a local salon, where …

Cabbage man

We stopped by a local sweet shop to try freshly made dango (sweet dumplings made from rice flour) that came in varieties sugary sweet, salty and roasted with sesame, soy and other flavours.       While there, we talked to the shop owner about Cabbage Man, a local celebrity we had heard about. Cabbage …

Food food food

No festival is complete without trying some local sweets. I tried taiyaki (a stuffed fish-shaped pancake) filled with chestnut, purple potato and sesame cream. I am not sure which was my favorite. (see left photo, my photo did not come out well so i used this one from Tanoshii Dezato - literally fun or interesting …

Different festival manners

Festival throughout Japan vary greatly. By joining the Iwatemachi Aki-matsuri (fall festival) we could enjoy some distinct dances, costumes, floats, and customs. Before the start of  the festival, we were prepared with our outfit for the day, which consisted of three parts, a hapi or festival jacket, footwear and headscarf. Some festivals have very strict …

Akimatsuri floats

The first site that attracted me was the different floats and how interesting they each were. There were 7 community groups and each group had different themes and images. Each group created float, which People in the community put a lot of time, effort and spirit into creating. The idea behind this reminds me of …

Festival intro and comparisions

Getting out of Tokyo is getting off the beaten track is always a good reminder of just how much there is much to see and do Japan. The Iwate Akimatsuri – literally Fall Festival - festival we joined in Iwate3 (Iwate village in the Iwate region of Iwate prefecture) on Oct 1~2 was fun and …