High School Culture Festivals

It's been a while since I wrote something (whoops) - sorry about that! I'll get some more stuff up soon!

Culture festivals, or bunkasai over here, are a massive part of the Japanese school year. I'd argue that, besides entrance exams for the third years, they're probably the most important thing for students. The Culture Festival is a campus-wide showcase of student talents that goes for usually one day, often on a weekend. Families come and visit the school to support their kids, and the students put on loads of performances and shows. It's often a very tight schedule. The morning begins with an official opening ceremony including an address from the principal, then the second year classes (16 year old/year 11 students) put on stage performances, usually plays or musicals. Each lasts for twenty minutes, and they're all judged by a panel of staff, then one winner is chosen.

Lunch is usually snack stalls organised by the third year students (18 year olds/year 12 students), which sell popular, inexpensive Japanese festival foods - takoyaki (octopus meat deep fried in a round ball, with a sweet kind of dark sauce, mayonnaise and bonito flakes), yakisoba (barbequed noodles and vegetables in a special BBQ sauce), etc. Most culture festivals are in summer, and often have shaved ice and ice cream for sale too. The middle of the day is the time to wander around with your snack and have a look at the first year students' (15 year old/year ten students) classroom decoration competition. Students transform their classrooms into mazes, trick rooms, themed photo studios, giant games, etc. Again, a panel of judges will select the best room. 

The middle of the day is also when a lot of the clubs and societies will showcase their talents - choirs and dance teams will alternate performances in the quad, bands will play in the gymnasium, the tea ceremony club will be set up somewhere to demonstrate the fine art of the Japanese tea ceremony. By the middle of the afternoon, it's time to return to the gymnasium for the results announcement and the closing ceremony. Then the parents head home, the students and teachers do a frighteningly efficient sweep-clean of the school, and everyone heads home.

I've now been lucky enough to attend three of my four schools' Culture Festivals. It was actually a pretty intense time; my last three weekends have just been crammed with them, one after another. They're very exciting and exhausting days. But the students get so, so excited, and they're so much fun. 

My base school in Soja was hands down the largest festival. Theirs is called "Nanshousai" and it goes for two days. I had to take off Friday at my visit school in Yakage to attend the first day of the festival, because it's so important to the school. Some Australian exchange students had arrived in Soja the day before, so I spent the first day of the festival with them, exploring and enjoying. Nanshousai definitely had the largest, grandest and most impressive opening ceremony, with teams having a cheer-off, and each class performing a small skit while their class banner was unfurled. There were just so many classes at my base school; I didn't even work out on the day which class had won. There were a lot of competitions, too, and they read out all the results at once, so it was very difficult to follow. But the students throw so much effort into each challenge!

Banners designed and painted by students, one for each class.

The haunted house banner was the winning design. There were a lot of art course students in this class.

My base school has an excellent art program, so a highlight of Nanshousai was definitely the art exhibition on the fourth floor. I wandered around in there for ages.

Shout out to my VCD classmates. What a throwback.

I really loved this. I loved the careful detail the student put into the stone lantern.

This piece was selected as a poster design used to advertise a local summer festival.

The second day of Nanshousai, we were visited by one of Okayama's Prefectural Advisors, Moses, and another ALT from Takahashi called Tom. I met them at the school entrance and took them around for the day. Hilariously, all the female students excitedly asked if Tom was my boyfriend, and were disappointed to learn that we'd only met for the first time half an hour earlier, and that he was not my boyfriend. 

Tom and Moses (Se Se).

Super popular shaved ice desserts. Basically like a slushie.

DIY Instagrams are always super popular. This class transformed their home room into an "Under the Sea" themed room.

My face is always too small for these things.

Trying some special "Okayama Strawberry" ice cream. With Pocky. Everything has to come with Pocky, apparently.

One class did a kigurumi (onesie) photo booth room, even though it was 35 degrees and 90% humidity. Death.

The "Where's Wally?" themed room consisted of a giant human-sized board game, where you are the piece and you roll an enormous dice, and play quizzes and games when you land on certain squares. It was very well done. This classroom was the winner.

The students' chalk board art continues to be consistently amazing and adorable.

A cute Rilakkuma prize I won from the "Where's Wally?" room.

Saturday was the day all the dance and stage performances were happening, and twice as many family members attended compared to Friday, so Saturday was definitely the best day. The highlight from Nanshousai day two was definitely the dance performance in the gym. My base school's dance team is heavily trained and award-winning, so they are very skilled and professional dancers. They performed a wide range of styles, from jazz to hip-hip and contemporary. No tap, though, which I was hoping for! All their routines were amazing, and I was incredibly nostalgic for our dance comps in high school. I miss dancing!

My visit school in Soja had their bunkasai on a Sunday, and I was so wrapped up watching student performances that I completely missed the food stalls somehow. This school was the only school that had a choir performance, which was lovely. I haven't seen many choirs yet in Japan. It was stinking hot, though, which was a shame as many performances were out in the quad, where we all baked under the sun and got stuck to the benches. My visit school in Soja is also an academic school, but has an amazing arts course, including textiles and fine arts. The second year plays at this school were particularly great, and the third year fashion students showcased their final pieces, which was utterly mind blowing. The third years had made full on evening gowns. Big, poufy, gathered, ruched, twinkly ball gowns, in every colour imaginable. Some were satin or silk, or tulle. So finely detailed and carefully made. The white gowns could honestly have been worn as wedding dresses, they were so amazing. You could tell how much hard work had gone into them; the students modelled their gowns and many of them were crying on stage. Such a huge achievement. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I was seriously stunned. The third year fashion show was definitely the highlight of the culture festival.

One class at my Soja visit school had a balloon art themed room.

More adorable chalk board art.

Under the Sea is a popular theme.

Just realising that I really didn't take many photos at the Soja visit school bunkasai. Whoops.

My visit school in Yakage was the very first bunkasai I attended, and it was actually my favourite of the three. It was a lot smaller than the other two schools, and it's in a rural town, but a lot of family members came along, so it was quite busy. Yakage's culture festival had a wide variety of things to do and eat. The second year plays at this school were my favourite so far. One class did an abridged version of Beauty and the Beast, which was cute. Another retold the famous folk tale of Momotaro. Another was a series of dances from an array of Disney movies, creatively using hand painted signs that flipped over and made pictures when all put together. One of the classrooms at Yakage had been turned into a cute second hand book sale, where I found a hardcover colour edition of one of my favourite underrated Ghibli movies (it's a children's book, so it will be great for practising reading Japanese). The third years at Yakage were in charge of the food stalls. One class sold ice cream with frosted flakes and Pocky. Another sold pop corn in colourful boxes. Another did takoyaki in cups. The students at Yakage were particularly high spirited - the most excited and cheerful of all the schools. For me, the general atmosphere at Yakage was the best. 

Preparing for the opening ceremony.

Takoyaki in a cup.

Students designed their own tickets, which you purchased from the stall and then exchanged for the food item of your choice.

Ice cream with frosted flakes... and Pocky, again.

I dunno what this series is, but it's super cute.

Panda-co-Panda picture book.

So cuuuuute.

Yuri! on Ice chalk board art. Not sure of the relevance, but still cute.

So that's it for today! The last bunkasai I will attend is my visit school in Kurashiki's, but there's is not until November. I feel so lucky to be able to participate in wonderful school community events like these, and am feeling extra grateful today for the JET Programme experience. More to come!

An Afternoon in Okayama City

Okay, friend, this one's photo-heavy. Brace yourself.

My first weekend in Okayama, I decided to get up early and make the most of my Saturday. I was also right fed up of dealing with life without internet. So I left on foot in search of Higashi-Soja station (a much smaller station east of the main station, Soja, and much closer to my apartment) and kept being pleasantly distracted by things - like the unexpected discovery of this Shinto shrine. It's name is Bitchukokusojagu. I haven't decided if I'm going to try to remember that yet; so far it's a pretty solid "no". It just seems to require a lot of effort. Plus: Google Maps, our one true saviour and endorser of laziness. Regardless, it's a very peaceful and pretty shrine, and I'm keen to visit again soon.

Torii: traditional entrance at shrines.

Flowers will likely feature. I like taking photos of flowers. I'm not sorry.

Stone foot bridge to an island with traditional stone lanterns.

Aforementioned stone lantern.

Shrine is dead ahead, where the ropes hang.

Some school kids were cleaning out these buildings.

Whilst continuing the search for Higashi-Soja station, I came across an elderly man tending to his front garden. I asked him the direction of the station, and – as is the norm – didn't understand his answer at all. But I understood his arm waving enough to know I was loosely Almost There. I realised shortly after I'd parted ways with the nice gentleman that I'd misunderstood the end of our conversation, and I hadn't told him which country I was from (which was what he'd asked). So now I feel I owe him an answer, and it's been weighing on my mind for days.It's really bugging me. Like when you have a confrontation with someone and stutter awkwardly around your tongue and end up meekly acquiescing when what you wanted was to stand up for yourself, and then you lie in bed every single night after thinking about all the witty zingers you could have dished up instead of the embarrassing drivel that was reality. So frustrating.

In the end I found the station. My predecessor (the girl who had this position and the apartment before me) had left her Icoca (re-loadable public transport card, unique to this part of Japan) with credit on it - so nice of her! She's been ace, actually. I don't know much about her, but she was unwell and had to leave the job, so now she's recovering and has moved to Hiroshima. She's helped me with some gnarly queries despite being very tired a lot of the time, and she's extremely lovely. I'm very lucky - I've heard that some people's predecessors are downright unhelpful or completely absent altogether. Yikes. 

Even metro cards have cute mascots.

LONG STORY SHORT, I caught the train into Okayama City, the capital of Okayama Prefecture. From my city, it’s about 45 minutes on the Momotaro Line (named after the very popular Japanese folk tale about a boy named Momotaro, who floated down the river in a giant peach and then saved the town from a cave of demon trolls), which is pretty easy-peezy. By Japanese standards, Okayama is a small metropolis, but compared to the rest of the sleepy prefecture it’s a thriving hub of excitement. I was there to visit Bic Camera, one of Japan's multi-level technology mega stores, which is conveniently right next to the station. 

I'll spare you the details of the two and a half hours I spent in there trying to work out the contract with my limited Japanese and the salesperson's even more limited English. Just know that it was arduous and exhausting, but I came out with internet - sort of. I went to Maccas to try to get it working (I signed up for a portable router with UQ mobile - unlimited data for up to eight devices, for about $45AUD per month, and they gave it to me with enough charge for immediate use) but couldn't, so I gave up in frustration and decided to go sightseeing instead.

Statue of Momotaro.

The main entrance to Okayama Station.

This fountain looks like a dandelion, especially in the breeze.

First glimpse of Okayama City.

Okayama Symphony Hall is an excellent landmark when getting lost on foot.

The number of things to do pleases me.

Which is how I ended up at Okayama Castle (castle photo spam incoming - you've been warned). I've been to quite a few Japanese castles now, and a lot of them are lot bigger and more famous than the "Crow Castle", as it's affectionately known, so admittedly I wasn't expecting to be wowed by it. But it actually has a very impressive and compelling presence; it felt sort of unyielding and proud, or something. Like it had squared its shoulders, straightened its back and glared out at its enemies, daring anyone to challenge it. I'm not going to spoil the history of the castle in case anyone else intends to visit someday, but I did the tour of the interior - full of authentic historical artefacts and lots of educational stuff (of the mostly-not-boring kind), so it is well worth a quick visit! The breeze on the top floor is delightful, too.

Entrance to the castle grounds.

Tsukimi Yagura, a two-storey corner turret on the grounds.

"Crow" Castle.

There's been a lot of summer festivals and events on lately, which it seems everyone is just starting to wind down from. So when I re-emerged outside, a handful of festival tents were set up and people were relaxing on blankets on the lawn behind the castle. I tried my first muscat and all-over-black grapes - Okayama is famous for its fruit - and watched the kids play a shooting game, where they tried to knock down as many oni (a kind of demon troll in Japanese folklore) to win a prize. I got to fulfil one of my weeb fantasies of fishing for a "yo-yo", which you can see in just about every high school splice-of-life anime ever created. It basically consists of using a hook with some paper tied to it to fish with your hand for an elastic loop attached to one of the many painted water balloons in a trough of water. If the paper gets sodden and breaks before you hook anything, you lose - but you can take as many "yo-yos" as you fish up before your paper breaks. It's really fun, actually. And the water balloon yo-yos are very cute.

Tiny summer festival tents.

Yo-yo fishing game.

Victory is mine.

Yay. :)

I got a little creeped out by an over-friendly, toothless Chinese man who spoke very good Japanese and insisted on making a beeline for me whenever he spotted me. He was hanging around on the castle lawn, so this happened a number of times. He was determined to keep engaging me in conversation. You know the type - there's always one who makes people uncomfortable even though they're harmless, and you know they've done it to people everywhere they go, because their phone is full of photos of them smiling with random strangers. The man was very nice, but I scuttled off to Koraku-en half worried he might follow me there. He just gave me a cheerful goodbye, though. Like I said, harmless. But you can never be too sure.

Friend/creep insisted on taking photos of me... off-centre.

Koishikawa Koraku-en (Koraku Garden) is a large, traditional Japanese landscape garden that dates back three hundred years, which Okayama boasts is one of the top three Japanese gardens in Japan. On its official website it says it has received three stars from the Michelin Green Guide Japan, so it's a Pretty Big Deal in Okayama. Having been to Kenroku-en in Kanagawa and the Imperial Palace East Gardens in Tokyo, and been suitably impressed, I had pretty high expectations. 

The gardens are geographically very close to the castle, but it's actually quite a hike down from the castle, across the bridge and then around the edge of the garden to the main gate. It was a pleasant stroll, though; by that stage the late afternoon was fading into sunset, and small groups of girls in yukata (summer kimono made of cotton) and young families were wandering down to enjoy the summer illumination event at the garden. A conveniently positioned rest hut offered white peach soft serve as a summer special (white peaches are especially famous in Okayama, and they are intensely celebrated), and I will never say no to ice cream, so I stopped for ice cream.

Those paddle boats are swan-shaped.

Yukata (summer kimono).

So... I can't say I was disappointed by the garden, because that wouldn't be fair to how lovely it is. But at first appearance, Koraku-en simply appeared to be a great expanse of neatly-kept lawns with a curving stream or two. So my first impression of it was definitely a little underwhelming. But I stuck around. There were heaps of people strolling leisurely, so I went for a wander, which turned out to be the right decision. A short while later the sun dipped below the trees, and the garden awash in pastel sunset was absolutely magical. Especially when you then add the soft glow of the fairy lights strung all around for the illumination event., and the gentle, musical tinkling of glass chimes visitors had hand-painted. 

That sunset, though.

A moment to appreciate that my camera has a setting that adds twinkles to photos.

I think the beauty in Koraku-en really does lie in its tranquillity. That seems so stupidly obvious considering it's a Japanese garden, but it honestly isn't that much to look at at first glance. I kind of wondered what I was supposed to be taking photos of. But the atmosphere there is so calm and wonderful that I could have stayed for hours longer. I really didn't want to leave (alas, hour long train rides home, etc), and I'm already looking forward to going back and taking friends and family there. 

And that was my first trip into the capital of Okayama Prefecture! More to come soon. x