Matsuri Mania

It’s summertime in Japan, which means there’s likely to be a festival or matsuri happening every weekend, if not every evening! During these hot months, festivals are a great way for people to have fun and blow off some steam.

In the week and a half since I arrived in Nagano, I attended two festivals and am looking forward to participating in more! If you’re really interested in the wide variety of festivals that exist throughout Japan, please look into it! There are so many things to celebrate, and in Japan they make sure to do so with style by incorporating music, dancing, fireworks, yukata, and a lot of awesome food. My experience is limited, but I’ve had tons of fun at the matsuri I’ve attended so far.

Nagano Binzuru

Binzuru is Nagano City’s biggest festival of the year. It attracts local and foreign tourists alike as the whole city gathers in teams to dance in the streets of Nagano all night long! The dance itself is fairly simple, it’s only about 30 seconds long and its steps are straightforward once you get them down.

The day before Binzuru, I was invited to Zenkoji (善光寺 Nagano’s main temple) with some of my coworkers to learn the dance from a master. I was excited about the prospect to see the temple up close, and to learn a culturally significant dance from an expert! I was also still walking around in zombie mode (let’s be real, I am STILL on this level) so half of my brain was not present for this. Toward the end of the working day, my coworkers and I piled into a car and drove up to the temple. We milled about in the rec center/offices next to Zenkoji, which provided a gorgeous view of the temple and surrounding mountains. (To experience this view, look no further than the header image on my main page!) My coworkers were talking excitedly about some celebrity who was coming to Nagano, and I didn’t make too much of it until I realized they meant he was coming to dance with us. Then a car pulled up with a camera crew and two famous members from the ultra-popular boy band group Exile walked into the rec center. I am not very familiar with the group, so I wasn’t as fazed as everyone around me, but I could tell that the air around Usa and Tetsuya was that of stardom. The dance master arrived, cameras were set, and we all learned the choreography together. I was placed in the middle of the shot, literally right next to Usa, likely because I was the token foreigner who would up the “global” feeling of the shot. I was fine to play the part, though, because it was super fun to focus on the dance steps and distract my zombie brain for a moment. When we finished dancing and the cameras stopped rolling, my boss’s boss came up to me and complimented my ability to keep up with the steps. 「上手だね！」I was relieved to hear this about something other than my struggling language skills.

We all said Otsukaresamadeshita (Thank you for your hard work) to Usa, the dance master, and the camera team before departing. I figured that would be my first and last brush with a Japanese super-celeb.

The next day,as we were all prepping for the Binzuru festival, my supervisor (M-san, who is very sweet and the same age as me!) came running into the International Exchange Corner squealing in delight. “HE SIGNED IT!” she exclaimed, revealing scribbles across the front of her Binzuru International Team shirt. “Can I have a new shirt? I’ve got to keep this one as a memento!” Turns out that Tetsuya (from the same Exile group) was getting ready to dance in the festival as well, in an office-turned-green-room just one level above us. As I said before, I’m not too familiar with the group or its members, but I thought this might be a fun opportunity to have a chat with him. I asked M-san to come back up with me so we could get a picture with him, and she enthusiastically agreed. We hurried up the flight of stairs, but my supervisor stopped short of entering the office. “What’s wrong?” I asked, peering inside. “Ahhh I’m too nervous!” she whispered. In the end, Tetsuya had to leave to get ready for the festival, and we left without a picture. Ah, well.

Binzuru Odori

The thing that’s tough about Binzuru is that you repeat this 30 second dance for 3 hours straight!!!! It becomes automatic after about an hour, and you quickly find that you’ll naturally yell 「それ！」and hit your wooden spoons together at the right moment without even thinking. During my time in Kyoto, I witnessed my fair share of festivals, but it felt awesome to be a contributing part rather than just watching from the sidelines.

Every hour or so, the music would end and a voice came over the loud speakers to announce a brief break for the dancers. Everyone cheered, clacking wooden spoons together and gathering around the nearest beverage wagon. People pulled these wagons filled with ice and alcohol throughout the streets along with the festival, and all participants got to drink 飲み放題 (nomihoudai), in other words, as much as you want! ちなみに、there’s a limited-time Summer Pineapple flavor of ほろよい that I am obsessed with. I drank that and a couple STRONG ZERO’s throughout the night, meeting new people from the local Nagano community along the way. I saw a lot of JET friends there which was nice! I’m looking to connect with more of them at a Nagano JET dinner later this week.

All in all, Binzuru was an amazing experience, and the perfect way to jump right in to life in Nagano City (did I mention that this was my third day in Nagano??)

Iizuna Fire Festival

This past weekend, (8/10) I met up with a new friend of mine G-san to attend a FIRE FESTIVAL IN THE MOUNTAINS. If you asked me to describe my favorite kind of festival, this very specific type would be it. When I lived in Kyoto, I went to the Kuramayama Fire Festival up in the cool mountains, and it left a strong impression.

G-san is an exchange student from China, who’s here studying Japanese language, culture, and customs as a part of an annual program run by Nagano City. She’s a lot of fun, and we communicate in an interesting mix of English–which she speaks quite well–, Chinese–of which I speak very little–, and Japanese. We were picked up by the Y-san couple, who drove us up winding streets of green into the nearby mountains. We sped along, enjoying the cool breeze of the mountain air, until a line of red flags told us we were approaching the festivities. When we turned the last corner, a breathtaking lake came into view, pyres of wood floating in a line across the water. This stoked my excitement like nothing else. FIRE FESTIVALS ARE THE BEST, GUYS.

As we were getting out of the car, Mr. Y told me he had a newspaper clipping with my face on it. He pulled it out of a file folder and handed it over for me to see, and I smiled and nodded, simultaneously filled with embarrassment and pride. We parked and unpacked–Mr. and Mrs. Y had prepared a cooler full of alcohol and snacks–and met a bunch of people who served on the festival planning committee. Turns out you sometimes even have to do meishi koukan at festivals! A path of lanterns lined the way to our goal; a prime picnic spot from which we could see the purifying rituals, taiko drum performances, and fireworks with ease.

Before the festivities started, G-san and I did some exploring around the area. I had seen ads for an exciting Adventure Course somewhere in nearby Nagano, and was interested in looking into it. Turns out I had to look no further! As we walked further into the forest we saw ropes hanging from trees, ladders of unstable steps, and ziplines promising a thrilling time in the woods of Iizuna. I would love to come back to this place to go camping and try out the course!

The Fire Festival began with a purification ceremony. A line of priests walked the path of lanterns until they reached an altar. Here, they purified and burned offerings to the heavens, then they lit the pyres near the performance stage to prepare for the taiko drums. Taiko performances are always a blast to watch. The energy of the drummers is at 150% as they jump and yell, throwing their entire body weight into the percussive music.

As the sky began to darken, save for the gorgeous half moon that illuminated the crowd below, they lit the pyres on the lake and the reflections of the dancing flames filled the audience with wonder. A violinist took to the stage, and provided a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack as the sparkling trails of fireworks burst into the sky. The fireworks show lasted for the better part of an hour, and I was enraptured the entire time. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of impressive fireworks shows. But the way that the still, pristine lake mirrored the spectacular dance of flames in the sky just took my breath away. The tones of the violin further amplified the feeling of bittersweet beauty, to the point where I was suddenly overwhelmed by my need to cry. It was a gorgeous night, and an unforgettable experience.

お盆祭＠善光寺 (Obon Matsuri at Zenkoji Temple)

I mentioned this in a previous post, but Zenkoji Temple is one of the oldest structures in Japan and the center of Nagano City. It has a long history full of rich traditions, and I was lucky enough to experience one of them firsthand on August 14th, 2019.

Toward the end of the work day, my coworker mentioned offhand that the Obon Matsuri was happening that night and the following at Zenkoji. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it out because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to adventure after a long day of work, but the temple is literally straight up the street from my house, so I ventured out on the 10 minute bike ride and arrived to witness a gorgeous sight.

The sounds of traditional Obon music and the movement of dancing festival-goers made the struggles of the work day instantly melt away. I was mesmerized by the gorgeous affair, and I strolled the temple grounds in a wondrous haze. I stepped into Zenkoji’s main hall, just in time to listen to a lecture describing the folklore and belief behind the Obon celebration. It was enlightening–and, if I’m being honest, a bit frightening–to hear the story of the 10 Buddhas who judge you as you make your way into the afterlife. The main one has a mirror that shows the truths of your sins, and if you lie about what you’ve done he rips out your tongue and sends you to Hell. It was a fun festival!

On a more serious note, the Obon festival is very important in Japanese culture, because it’s a time to remember lost loved ones. Similarly to Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos, Obon begins by welcoming the spirits of our dearly departed family members back to this realm, riding in on a cucumber horse, spending the week with us and eating good food offerings, then riding back to the other world on a slow eggplant cow.

Most people take time off from work to spend the summer days with other family members, remembering those who are no longer with them.

I thought a lot about what foods I would welcome my dad with, and knew he would love the festivities of Obon.

To end the festivities of the night, I went and danced around the lantern platform with the rest of the throng, and enjoyed my time immensely.

The next day I returned to buy a shuin (red stamp & calligraphy) for my Goshuinchou (red stamp collection book).

Summer’s a great time for festivals!

**Life update: I do not currently have access to WiFi in my house — I’ll break down my struggles with this process and some hopefully helpful advice in another post. But at the moment, I’m sitting in the Starbucks at Nagano Station to mooch off their free internet. It might be awhile before I can update again, but at that point I’ll have some more experiences to share with you all! (Cat cafes, 飲み会 (drinks with coworkers), and cinema culture in Japan).**

楽しんでくださいね！