Just Another Aomori Weekend...

In light of two very eventful weekends in a row, when I realized I didn't have anything big planned for this past weekend, I was relieved. The pile of laundry that had been staring at me all week and my sad, empty refrigerator were happy to hear that I'd have some free time. But as the end of the work week approached, plans quickly changed, of course.

"What is your schedule this weekend?" (Japanese people like to call it your 'schedule' instead of your 'plans'...something I 'schedule' to change pronto)

I'm always tentative to answer this question because I feel like if my "schedule" is open, then they have automatic rights to fill it with whatever event they are ready to propose. Of course, with the right person/people, I don't really mind.

So first, my snowboarding nihonjin pals asked what I was up to, and it was quickly brought to my attention that 229 Skiland, Takko's mountain, was having its end-of-the-season fiesta (multi-lingual...impressed?). After the day events, the Takko Snowboarding Association (TSBA) would be having a get together at Ikeda Farms, the beef farm in Takko and also the site of one of the many welcome/sayonara events for Patrick and me. Sunday? Booked.

Next, Nanbu Ben was gushing about this sushi restaurant in Hachinohe that was cutting up a huge tuna on Saturday night. Apparently this place is one of the best sushi restaurants in the area (arguably in the entire prefecture), and I love me some tuna, or maguro, so Saturday night? Booked.

Lastly, since finding out that 229 was in its last week of the season, Nanbu Ben, Kendal and I talked about trying to get in a last night-snowboarding trip. Due to some fairly busy schedules, Friday night was decided upon as THE day. Booked.

Friday morning came and went and as the afternoon slowly came to a close, plans of snowboarding were nixed. It hasn't snowed here in nearly two weeks, and it had RAINED earlier in the week. Yes, it has been too warm for snow. Sadly, this makes for some very icy, therefore resulting in painful conditions. Instead, Friday night's plans turned to a beer fest at Nanbu Ben's with Whitney...involving power hour, tuna melts, and a drinking game involving the movie Casino Royale. Well, when you drink as infrequently as I do, six beers go straight to the head, tuna melt or not. I was out thirty minutes into the movie...who sleeps during James Bond? Especially when we're playing "drink at every 'that's-what-she-said' moment"? This gal. The next morning, I woke up to a wonderfully long phone conversation with my honey, Pato chan, chocolate chip pancakes, and Whit's nighttime staircase story which doesn't need to be spelled out in print. I headed home soon after the last bite of pancakes to freshen up before the night.

Fish head!

Believe it or not, I have only been to one real sushi restaurant in Japan. I have only recently developed the taste for raw fish, but haven't had the chance to really indulge...that is, until this past Saturday night. The crew of gaijins: Nanbu Ben, Michael, Whit, Ululani, and myself...ready to take on one of the best sushi joints in Aomori! We expected it to be packed, and it was. This event of chopping up a huge tuna only occurs once a month (I believe) at this particular restaurant, and it really draws a crowd. Of course, the sushi chef makes a big show of beheading the fish and parading it around the center of the restaurant...much to the delight of the children present. We were the only gaijin there, but people would have figured we were foreign by the subsidiary oohing and aahing on our part...oh, and the picture-taking too. I was fascinated by the size of the fish...my entire life, tuna has been this pink chopped up fish mess found in a round can at the grocery store and that my cats would go crazy for every time I drained the juices. My head could fit inside this fish's head. I was also enthralled by the fact that this fish had been swimming merrily about mere hours ago in the ocean a few kilometers away. He was probably hanging out with his fish buddies, minding his own business and enjoying the increasingly warm weather when...BAM! A fish net swoops him up, and he's screwed. You can bet that he wasn't planning on being tonight's entertainment, but at least he's going out with a bang. When we finally sat down, no one lost any time in grabbing the sushi plates as they rolled by on the conveyer belt next to our table. I enjoyed several kani rolls (crab), king salmon (that's what they call it too...), and of course, maguro. The *special* pieces of maguro were served to the select few customers who could raise their hands the fastest at the sound of a bell...our table was usually all over it, and I had the opportunity to try the meat of the tuna from its cheek. There's probably a much more sophisticated name for it, but you're going to have to deal with what I gave you. Anyway, I was very much about this sushi place and "schedule" to return at a later date.

The prize won for quickest hand

The next morning, I forewent (really?) a ride from my nihonjin pal, Ayumi to 229 in exchange of talking to Pato chan all morning (his temporary free use of his phone is spoiling me again...I'm sure no good will come of this). I finally rose at midday to prepare myself for an afternoon of riding when...dun dun dunnnn. I realized I had left my gloves in Nanbu Ben's car. Woo is me! With all my snowboard gear and no gloves to go, I was forced to stay in for the day. At least my apartment finally received the TLC it had been looking forward to all week.

As the last load of laundry happily tumbled in the dryer and my sparkling clean floors sighed with relief, I ran my brush through my hair once more before running downstairs to meet my ride for tonight's Ikeda farm par-tay. The usual spread was available (including cow tongue...remember that from when I first got here? And yes...I tried it again) and I helped myself to a beer or two. There were several others that helped themselves too...but to more than just a few. At first I thought it was my imagination that the table behind me was saying my name, but when I was ushered into a picture and the usual giggling and gesturing to "practice English" ensued, I knew I hadn't imagined anything. Any kind of "flirtatious" behavior in Japan can be likened to that of a pre-teen on a hormone high. In other words, there is a lot of giggling, gesturing, and instigating on the part of the friends. Engaging in conversation was like being back in Jr High, except I wasn't 13 years old. Needless to say, it was entertaining because they were quite yopparai (drunk) and I was not quite, and to top it all off, their English was just as good as my Japanese. Excellent. The translating went through three or four people to get back to us, although I could hear my friends, Ayumi and Yoshie, doing the translation from across the room. The climax of the conversation occurred when they asked, "Jeshka have boyfriend"? Yes, I do. Yes, he lives in America. His name is Patrick (keep in mind that most of these people knew Patrick from snowboarding and it was brand new information for many). "Oh my gaaawdd...shock! Shock!" (Shock in this term of use meaning sad). Yes, yes it is quite sad. Oh, and I leave Japan in four months. "O my gaawdd...shock!!!" Probably the most utilized English word of the evening. It was quite the to do, I suppose, but these guys did have one English phrase down pat: "I love beer!". Yes, yes I can see that. By the end of the night, this is what was made clear through a very specific rating system illustrated by what level their hands were at as they called out each item:

-- beer...
-- coffee....


-- chocolate.....





-- Shaun White.......



-- JESHKA!


You can imagine how thrilled I was to be a higher priority than the great Shaun White. Oh, joyous day.

Oh you know, just hanging out in an igloo. NBD.

So like I said...just another weekend in Aomori :)

__

Coming up... Tomorrow is Takko HS's graduation, and I recently learned that the entire country of Japan holds their high school graduations on March 1st. Oh yea, by the way? February is over. It's truly shocking (in the surprising, not sad sort of way)! Japanese graduations are VERY different from American ones, so I'm excited to see that. And to wear one of my suits.

ALSO coming up... Julia comes in less than TWO weeks! I visited Shimizugashira today (one of the schools we'll be visiting), and they're all so excited. One of my 6th graders kept saying, "beautiful! beautiful!". Oh, they have no idea :) I can't wait!

Letter update... Letters are currently at a stand still. We have truly lucked out this past week with regular phone/email contact. Like I said earlier, I'm being spoiled. I'm sure the letter count will be brought back into action soon enough. Stay tuned!

Jessica Goes to Hokkaido!

I'm going to preface this entry by saying that I couldn't possibly begin to capture the essence of this trip through a blog entry or pictures. That would involve posting several one-liners and links to youtube clips that would only be mildly funny to you, the reader, and probably lead you to think that we went crazy being stuck together for so long. Quite the contrary.

The destination? Sapporo, Hokkaido. The crew? Ben, Michael, Kate, Whitney, Ikumi, Joel, and me. The itinerary? The Sapporo Snow Festival (and ridiculous shenanigans, of course). A trip made for success.

Our entire adventure began Thursday evening (February 10th, to put it into perspective). My dear friend, KEITO CHAN, was arriving from Chiba to join us! Already in the car were Ben (driver), Joel, and me. After swooping her up from the train station, we were off to the grocery store to buy dinner. Kate and I, being the two people that we are, were entirely predictable. Any guesses as to what we chose? If you thought crackers, cheese and salami...you are RIGHT! Also, throw in some Pringles and chocolate-covered almonds in there for good measure. My, aren't we healthy? We met up with Michael, who was already at Ben's house, and feasted upon our junk food while watching youtube videos (hence the reference to it above) and reading excerpts from a book called Tokyo Confessions. It's a must-read for anyone that has been, is in, or will be going to Japan. Shocking stories.

The next morning came early, with a 45 minute drive to Hachinohe train station to meet Ikumi and Whitney and a 10 minute cab ride to the ferry terminal. Let me pause right here...we are currently at seven people total in the group. The original plan until about a week before the trip  was to cram seven people into a kei car, take the ferry to Hokkaido, and then drive another two hours to Sapporo. With seven people. (By the way, a kei car is a very compact car that are common in Japan; they're very economical and I don't know what they're called kei cars) After purchasing our tickets, we jumped on the ferry, eager to begin the eight hour boat ride to Hokkaido.

Let me tell you, the ferry was nothing like I had expected! This is what I had imagined it to be like:

Ferry Scene from The Dark Knight

This, except without the dilemma of whether or not to blow up the other ferry full of people.

This is what it was like in reality:

Ben, Ikumi, Whitney and Michael

Aaw! Happy people! It turns out, we had a ton of room to spread out, there was an onsen to get all fresh and clean, and a restaurant (final verdict on the food: first ferry food= bad; second ferry food=good). A few naps, a lunch at the restaurant and a walk outside (Japanese air circulation is non-existent), we finally arrived in Hokkaido. Oh happy day! Our bus ride to Sapporo was uneventful and most of all, we just wanted to shower. Two hours later, we arrived in the awesome city of Sapporo. It's a large city like San Francisco nestled in the snowy mountains. The landscape was a beautiful contrast.

Reppin' the 50!

Our group had split up and reconvened for dinner not too far from our hotel in the Susukino area, which I later found out is a prime spot for partying. We found ourselves at a seafood izikaya, a restaurant offering a plethora of sea creatures sliced, diced and cooked at our whim. Sounds tasty, doesn't it? Well, we had a grand time. Michael's Australian friend, Matt, joined us along with his Australian friends, and because we're foreign, we got put in the back of the restaurant. Probably a good decision on the restaurant's part. Things got rowdy after the 3rd or 4th round of double whiskey shots and my camera was able to capture a few of the ensuing moments.

Team Australia!

Team America!

Double whiskey shots...German-style!

Between departing from the restaurant and heading to karaoke, we lost half the group. The Americans got a bit too wild for the Australians, and they headed home. In reality, they had a big day of travel in front of them, but I think that some of them had one double whiskey shot too many and couldn't handle it. Well, the show must go on! So our smaller, but no less special, group headed to towards karaoke. Ben's friend from high school is not only doing JET, but was also in Sapporo with some of her JET friends. They already had a karaoke room reserved. Perfection. After finally locating the correct Big Echo (a nationwide karaoke chain), we quickly made ourselves at home, added our songs to the playlist and got to singing. The usual shenanigans ensued.


Because we were in a big city, McDonald's was the natural choice for our post-drinking meal, so off we went. Kate and I ordered our regulars (black pepper Shaka Shaka chicken and a Big Mac, respectively) and we all engaged in some pretty hilarious conversations that will never be recalled, unfortunately. You're all disappointed. We returned to the hotel, which would be a good time to show you how large our room was. We were able to fit five of us in there...pretty impressive.

The next morning we dragged ourselves out of bed at a reasonable hour, got ourselves a breakfast of champions at a convenny, and headed to the snow festival. Oh yes! The motivation for the entire trip. Essentially a series of snow and ice sculptures spread throughout the city, the Sapporo Snow Festival has been attracting people from all over Japan for over 60 years. We had seen a few the night before in Susukino, but today was totally focused on seeing everything. What we learned that day: the city of Sapporo and the vendors at the festival probably didn't take advantage of any native English speakers to proofread their signs; boots meant for rain are not insulated enough to be walking around in on snow and ice; going to the snow festival at the end during a particularly warm week in February probably isn't the best idea; Hawaii is a country, or at least is meant to represent the entire United States; Food from the Americas was represented by something called the New York Burger, which seemed to be your standard  cheeseburger with a fried egg...oh yea, I have that all the time!

After adding a few to the crew, we headed over to the Sapporo Beer Garden for some nomihodai (all you can drink/eat). This particular nomihodai was limited to 100 minutes, so it was the goal of all 15 of us to shove as much Ghangis Khan and down as much Sapporo beer as possible in that time frame. The food was your standard yaki niku, with all lamb. The place provided plastic bags (which we assumed were to bag your clothes so they didn't stink of lamb afterwards) and bibs, so the grease splatter from the pan didn't stain anything. Charming. I decided the best way to go about this was to pace myself with the person next to me, who just so happened to be Joel. We're about the same size, although being a guy I believe him to have a much higher tolerance than me. I kept up, even with drinking darks and half/half...but I did lose count. Kate suggested we do a throwback to college days and keep count with marking on our arm. No one had a marker. Damn.

When our 100 minutes were all up, there was talk of karaoke, but we migrated to another bar that was known for its something or other. To be honest, I wasn't paying attention. Upon crossing its threshold, I felt like I was back in America. The place was full of gaijin. There were JETs from all over the country and several military as well, mostly from Aomori prefecture. I'm not sure how much time passed while we chatted and drank away, but we soon found ourselves, once again, at McDonald's. Shocker. We all had our same orders, except Kate had managed to convert Ben to the Shaka Shaka chicken. Well, this caused quite the stir! While Kate and Ben were "shaka'ing", a foreigner (we took to calling her Russian girl...not sure if she really was) behind us made a few comments about quieting down. No one in our group heard except me, so, being the intoxicated troublemaker that I was, encouraged them to continue "shaka'ing" louder, if possible. Russian girl commented even louder this time, "I need it quiet in here!"...and that just got us all laughing uncontrollably. First of all, it was 3am. What the hell was this girl doing at Mickey D's at 3am if she needed quiet? Everyone knows that's the post-drinking/drunk food stop! Of course, her comment encouraged Ben to move his "shaka" performance from our table to standing in the aisle, much to the delight of a couple of Japanese girls sitting next to us.

NOTE: Had the woman who commented been Japanese, we would've complied with her requests...it was simply because this lady was a gaijin at a McDonald's at 3am on a weekend asking us to quiet down. Ridiculous? Yes, I think so.

The next morning, we dragged ourselves to the ferry station to board our nine hour ferry back to Aomori. Although not exactly thrilled to end the weekend and return to our "normal" lives, it was certainly a trip to put in the books. Like I said, I don't think I was able to properly capture the essence of the trip through this entry...



In other BIG news... I'm currently finishing this entry in Missouri! Surprised? Can't blame you! Patrick's plans changed last minute and he ended up being around for BCT graduation, so I threw together some last minute plans and headed out to the Midwest to see him. Call me crazy, but the 20 some odd hours of bliss we spent together was well worth it. Anyway, he's off to the next leg of the journey: OCS. Ganbate, Pato chan :)

Back Onstage in Nippon!

Come on, come all to see the amazing foreigner performing live onstage in Takko-Machi!

I swear to you, that's what the headline of the posters said! Hehehe...

This past weekend was the happyokai in which I performed with my Nihon Buyo group along with a number of other groups and individuals of various performance backgrounds. Although I was unclear as to what the purpose of the gathering was, I suppose it was an opportunity for local people to celebrate and keep alive their culture and traditions, some of which have been around this area for thousands of years (ex: Nanyadoyara). For me, it was an occasion for me to further immerse myself into everything this great country has to offer. And let's be honest...when have I ever said "no" to performing?

Although this was my first time performing Nihon Buyo (more elaboration later, I promise), it was not my first time performing in Japan. Waaay back when in October of 2009, I performed for the patrons of the G&B Festival my rendition of "Taylor the Latte Boy"...good times, ne? However, I wasn't roped into all of this purely based on my singing talents (shocking). I had also danced the Nanyadoyara on several occasions for this event and that, and a few of the ladies from this group saw me, realized I had an interest in taking dance classes, and signed me up! Six months later and I found myself painted in white make up with a kimono on and about a billion layers. I'm sure I blended right in.

Allow me to back track...as is with all dance, there are several versions of Japanese-style dancing. The group that I've practiced with dances the Nihon Buyo (に移動). This style of dance is made for entertainment on the stage as opposed to other dances that may be performed for religious rituals or specific events. It has evolved over the years as it incorporated elements from other styles and became influenced by the western world's growing presence in the country. To the western eye, however, Nihon Buyo looks as traditional as traditional can be (at least it does to me!). Of course, the components of this style that I found most interesting were almost the ones I had the most trouble with; the first characteristic I noticed/struggled with was how slooooow it was. Granted, the piece I danced to ("Sakura Sakura") is probably one of the most famous pieces of Japanese traditional music out there and is, from what I understand, a dance done by those just starting out. But overall, everyone's performance was very slow, a huge change from the fast-paced-jump-around-cheer stuff I'm used to. My next obstacle was the turning IN of the feet. Since I started dancing when I was 10 years old, they trained us to turn our feet OUT. Urgh. This I had issues with for a bit as it felt awkward to walk through the dance pigeon-toed (where is Julia when you need her?), but this is thought of as very beautiful for Japanese standards...so pigeon-toed it is! And lastly, with this style of dance, every since movement is deliberate and exact. This may seem obvious, but I was getting corrected on my arm placement with a difference of about 5 degrees...such things are usually not as easily spotted in the dance that I'm used to since it is far more fast-paced and difficult to catch mistakes like that. Along with this deliberateness, I was to be in a plié (bent knees) stance for the entirety of the dance (about 4 minutes). This was actually a fun challenge for me...it brought back some great memories from ballet and was fantastic strength conditioning for my legs. It certainly took its toll on my knees, however.


So now that you have a better idea of what Nihon Buyo entails, I guess a video would be in order, right? Unfortunately, I don't have that available. My sincere apologies. I have a short clip linked below, but not a full version. Mom, don't worry...I'll be purchasing a video of the entire happyokai so you can see it in its entirety.

The happyokai was scheduled to begin at 12pm, but I began my "getting ready" process at 8am, with a trip to the beauty salon. I had my hair done once before by this salon, but that was back in my "Queen" days...I also didn't have a choice in style. But this time, they plopped some style magazines in front of me and gestured for me to choose. I have to choose?! I didn't know what was the appropriate hair style for a geisha! I decided to go with the most conservative style I saw (the magazine given to me was geared towards 20-year-olds preparing for the traditional ceremony celebrated at that age...that's an entirely different story). Now, I'm pretty picky when it comes to my hair. I like it to be perfect and very secured, especially if I'll be dancing in it. That's what I really liked about this salon; she pulled and tugged at my hair to ensure it was neatly in place. In the end, my hair ended up being a mess of curls pinned into a messy bun. And, as with most hairstyles for these occasions, several random hair pieces were thrown on to finish it off. Even more were added once I arrived to the plaza to meet my group. Check out the accompanying picture for a visual.

Miyu getting painted

Ayani getting make up

My hair took about an hour, which gave me some time to eat toast before heading over to the plaza to get dressed (a light breakfast was necessary as I'd be tightly wrapped into my kimono and didn't need any of my breakfast to come back up). My dance was the first to perform out of our group, so I, along with the two younger girls that danced with me, were the first priority. We began with make up: a white base which was layered on thick, with red shadow, thick black eyeliner, drawn-on eyebrows, and bright fire-engine red lipstick. It was nothing like I had ever seen before for stage make up. The only familiar thing was the red lipstick. I hated wearing red lipstick. Next was the white paint, for lack of a better word, that was applied to our arms, chest, neck and nape. I looked like an obake (ghost)! An hour of make up later, and I was ready for my kimono. I've posted pictures of me in a yukata, a summer version of the kimono. A yukata is made of a lighter material and the sleeves, I believe, aren't as long. Well, since it's winter, the kimono I was wearing was not only made of silk, but I ended up having on four layers...and I didn't go outside. It was cho atsui! Along the four layers, I had about four to five layers of one version or another of the obi (the sash that is wrapped around the waist while wearing the kimono). I feel as if the point of the kimono is to look thin, but I always felt larger after they wrapped so much crap around me...

Ayani, Me and Miyu
I'm their mother...resemblance is uncanny

Finally, the time had come for the performance. Everyone around me was concerned: "Agatte desuka?" (Are you nervous?). "Nai, desho!" (Of course not!). And I wasn't. The dance was all of 4 minutes long and I had been practicing it for several months now. I credit this to my choreographers from way back when with the last minute changes to everything, but I pick up on choreography quickly. It's something all the obasans took note of during my first practice, except they mistook my ability to remember choreography for being skilled at Japanese dance. Oh well...let them think what they'll think! Anyway, the two little girls I was dancing with, Miyu and Ayani, were bouncing off the walls. Miyu, usually a ball of energy, was dancing for the first time and was obviously very thrilled about it. As the lights dimmed for our entrance, we covered our faces with the fans, and shuffled our way to the middle of the stage, turned towards the audience (faces still covered) and slooooooowly knelt down (killed my knees). At the second "Sakura...", I lowered my fan to reveal my *gasp* gaijin face. Literally, and I'm not kidding you, the entire audience gasped and started whispering. For a split second, I was worried about there being something on my face or kimono, but I remembered the novelty of being a foreigner participating in such events and how SHOCKING it must be to everyone. The rest of the dance went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I don't have any video of my own right now, but my friend recorded the last bit of it. Click here.


As the dance ended and we tried to shuffle away backstage, my path was blocked by the announcer. How did I not see this one coming? He gestured for me to join him in the middle of the stage, made a comment about how たかい (takai=tall) I was, and disappeared backstage...leaving me there. I stared at everyone in the audience. It's standard Japanese entertainment procedure to leave someone helpless and confused; at least, that's my understanding of it based on observation. The announcer finally returned with a box to stand on, which made him about an inch taller than me. Ha ha ha. He made more comments about how well I had done ("Joozu desune?!"), which prompted another round of applause from the audience and a deep bow from me. He then turned to me and shot off with some rapid fire Japanese. I smiled as sweetly as I could and replied, "Gomenasai! Nihongo wakarimasen." Patrick had taught me some long exhausting phrase about not knowing how to speak Japanese which usually got laughs from everyone because here he was, spouting off with all kinds of Japanese, but I didn't remember it. A simple, "I'm sorry, I don't understand Japanese" would have to do. It still got laughs, but I think that's because I'm blonde and therefore, always entertaining. It turns out he was asking me what my job was ("Kokusai koryuun desu"), and how long I've lived in Takko (to which I didn't know how to answer...I had said "nana gatsu", or seven months, which also means July, so that answer might have been confusing). Anyway, with another quick bow and wave, I was released backstage. Whew.

It's over!!!

I'm actually very disappointed that it's all over. I had been looking forward to performing again; my family will tell you that it's my calling. I'm sure there will be more chances in the future and until then, there's always karaoke!

Demons Out! Luck In!

Watch out Groundhog's Day...there's a much more entertaining holiday in town!

I know what you're all thinking: "But Jessica, Groundhog's Day is my favorite holiday!" Yes yes, as it is for many, but Japan has a corresponding holiday that casts a large shadow over America's "spring prediction" holiday.

Part of Sakura san...ready for battle!

Yesterday was February 2nd for us on this side of the world, and as luck would have it, I was teaching my kid's class at the Garlic Center. Perfect opportunity to teach them about this ridiculously silly American tradition. As I told them the tale of Puxsutawney Phil and how the entire nation watches as he decides whether he'll be scared of his shadow or not, they were particularly focused on the fact that groundhogs are fat and cute. Oh well, at least the picture of a groundhog that I chose was entertaining enough. Of course, we all know that spring will arrive on its own time and no rodent is going to be the predictor of that, but somehow, our entire country becomes fixated on this little guy for one day every year. That is some cutting edge news for you!

All of Takko Hoikuen

Japan, on the other hand, has a much more engaging way to bring in a new season. It's called Setsubun, or "Bean Throwing Festival". The setsubun is the day before each new season in Japan and is literally translated as "seasonal division", but the term is most commonly tied to the transition between winter and spring and is traditionally held on February 3rd. It was previously thought of as a type of New Years Eve, so the idea was to drive out the evil spirits of last year to bring in a clean slate for the year to come. Enter, the bean throwing.

The bean throwing part of Setsubun is called mamemaki, literally "bean throwing". If you made the connection between "mame" and edamame, then GOOD for YOU! The custom calls for the head male of the household to throw the fuku mame, "lucky beans", either out the door of the household or at someone dressed as an oni, "demon" or "ogre", while yelling, "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!"...translated as, "Demons out! Luck in!" Did anyone make the connection from this entry's title on their own? Anyone? The thought is that the lucky beans will drive away the evil spirits and purify the space for the coming year.

Warrior with his "fuku mame"

While I probably won't be running around my apartment yelling at the demons to get the hell out while throwing roasted soybeans everywhere, I was able to enjoy this ritual with, who else, my hoikuen kids. As you can imagine, kindergarteners would be the BEST ones to do this with. For those dedicated readers of mine, think back to Halloween and the haunted house; that's where my excitement level was at, except I knew that it was guaranteed that the kids would be freaked out.

Pep talk from the Principal

The entire school was to be involved in the event. Every kid from ages one to six was dressed in some kind of outfit; Sakura san (the oldest class and the group that I teach), had the boys decked out in samurai-like outfits, while the girls adorned hats decorated with paper oni. Everyone held a hand-made basket of some sort, except the boys of Sakura san and the school Principal; they carried wooden boxes filled with the "fuku mame". When it came time, the entire school lined up in the big hall, prepared to fight down the oni. Everyone looked excited, although the ones taking it more seriously looked brave, like they were getting ready for war. Everyone sang a song; although I didn't understand all of it, the jist of the song was telling the demons to leave so that they may have a lucky year. The children sang the song three times, raising the volume each time. After the last note of the third time, we heard the booming sounds of the taiko drum, which signaled the entrance for the oni. The kids knew, and their perfect line formation scattered as they frantically looked for the oni. Two of the high school students dressed as the oni (one green, one red) entered from opposite ends of the room. Bear in mind that these children are wee ones, so a high school student would tower over them. Add a scary demon mask and a giant club to the mix, and you're sure to get some freaked out kids.

Chaos!

The screaming and tears began almost immediately, although there were plenty of "fuku mame" being thrown at the oni. I did my best to capture the Kodak moments, but I had a number of little guys grabbing on to me, crying and trying to hide. I also tried not to laugh, but it was hard not to when I saw some of the biggest bullies in my class beside themselves with fear when the oni came near.

The hysterics lasted for all of 4-5 minutes. After enough "fuku mame" was thrown, the oni began to retreat, clearly defeated. Despite the fact that everyone was fine and they had won, many of the tears didn't stop until well after the oni had left.

It's a shame that this Japanese tradition hasn't carried over to America. Think about it; if you were a little kid and you knew that with bad luck comes this huge scary demon ogre, you'd think twice about doing something bad, right? Karmic retribution takes on an entirely different meaning! And I mean really, who is going to be scared of a fat little groundhog? Just something to think about, America...

Three of the cutest oni you will ever see!

__

Coming up... This weekend is the long-anticipated happyokai for my Japanese Dance class! Stay tuned for an update, pictures and quite possibly, a video.

Letters Written: 53