Yumi & Alex SE Asia trip: Trumi no ennichi

Reikos’ mother invited us to visit her town for the festival. Like everything else in Japan it’s a very old tradition to carry a shrine and offer thanks to the gods. If all goes well, there will be plenty of rain for the crops.

The celebration was really big, and I was offered the chance to carry the shrine. I was super excited until I heard two conditions surrounding the offer: 1) wake up at 8 am & 2) carry it for the whole day… we woke up at 12 and though unexpectedly, Cige and I were offered to jump in and partake in the festivities.

That thing was HEAVY! Carrying it was like having Mike Tyson on your shoulders… also the fact that I was a foot taller than everyone else didnt help.

But it was A LOT of fun!

The best part of any festival is street food (and all the cute girls in costumes). There were so many choices I didnt know where to start (food wise). Octopus balls, grilled squid, crepes and pancakes, all kinds of fish and an abundant assortment of fried, grilled and steamed goodness every 10 feet across the entire city… though, no bugs, cats or dogs. Japanese dont eat these… trust me, I asked. They eat raw horse… cause that’s totally cool and completely different from a grilled cat…

^^;