August 17 - Nishimonai Bon Odori

Insects: one very determined and large green grasshopper, one small brown grasshopper, one cock-a-roach (that came out with a Spanish accent), and more flying things

T5B: 1) I got to see Nishimonai Bon Odori. 2) Limor was daring and got us some seats. 3) People left early so I could get an even better seat! 4) Limor was very kind to me about the heat overwhelming me. 5) The onsen at our hotel did not have a closing time.

The morning started out a bit rough. I hadn't gotten to sleep as early as I wanted and I had gotten up extra early to do laundry. I started the laundry going, took a shower, and cooked myself some breakfast. Luckily I WAS paranoid as the laundry took a longer time to finish than I expected. However, I was able to hang it all up to dry and pack the things I needed for the weekend. I packed extremely light but took along my laptop since last weekend the other hotel only had a lan connection and I didn't want to miss skyping my parents again. The laptop made my bag heavy but as I say, "I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." I rode down to the station with no stress (remembering my trip to the station last week) and made it to the train with plenty of time to cool down. On the way to the platform, I saw two of my students (I described this on fb so sorry if it's a repeat for you). One darted around like he was looking for a place to hide, lol, while the other incredulously raised his hand to wave and smiled with his eyes wide and disbelieving. When the other stopped darting around, he rapidly bowed a bunch and waved. I just grinned and waved the whole time. :) While on the train, I read the entire way to Kitakami. It was a very pleasant train ride. The conductor went around checking people's tickets (this is the second time I have ever had my ticket checked) and stamping them with the date. When I got to Kitakami, I hugged Limor hello and watched her car as she ran in to go to the bathroom. Then off we went. First we made some stops in Kitakami. I was able to get some gifts for my family members (they didn't have enough stock though so I need to find another retailer and get the rest). We grabbed some things Limor needed and stopped by the bank (this time I took advantage of the opportunity to get my money out for the proceeding week). We thought about getting lunch but neither of us was really hungry so we decided to get lunch in Akita.

The drive was nice. We talked and listened to music. When we got to Yuzawa Onsen (our hotel) it was HOT. The hottest day yet: 35°. We checked in (they were kind enough to let us check in early), and went to Yokote to get lunch. We ended up going to the same place we went last week for Yakisoba (the local specialty), I msged a bff, and we found out their worked who speaks English so well is half Japanese, half Filipino. He grew up in the Philippines and now lives and works in Japan (maybe that bit was obvious, sorry). I asked him if he spoke Ilonggo or Aklano (sorry Nod I'm sure I spelled those wrong!) but he said he spoke Tagalog. I told him my sister spoke some Tagalog and then off we went. We went back to the hotel and I got overwhelmed. I spazzed out (I can't think of a better way to put it) and started crying and just felt overwhelmed and crappy. Luckily Limor was pretty nice about it and talked me out of my bad idea (theoretically bad idea at least - we'll see what happens at the doctor tomorrow). After I calmed down, it was time for me to help Limor get dressed. She was EXTREMELY worried that we wouldn't be able to get her into her many-layered, very traditional, yukata. I was confident and not worried about it at all. The a/c was on in our room, but by the time we got her dressed we were both very sweaty. Definitely her more so than me. There were some tricky parts (as her yukata had more parts than the one I put on myself, but we got it figured out. In fact, when we got down to the lobby the lady at the front was saying how beautiful it was and highly complimented me. Pretty much everyone we saw that night (other than the guy who made the yukata and fixed one piece - but that's only one out of everything and I was not hurt at all) said how beautiful Limor was and how did she get dressed? She would point to me and then they all exclaimed over me. :) It was nice to be a little bit of a celebrity. The hotel where we stayed had complementary buses but Limor wanted to get there early. She asked if I minded if we took a cab. I took out my wallet to see how much I had and she said, "No, no. I'll pay." I felt badly that it would cost her money but I told her if she wanted to go early, then yes I was ready to go. :) So off we went!

I told you about when we arrived - the yukata maker and shop owner fixed the red sash Limor was wearing. We had some tsumetai wheat tea (non caffeinated - and tsumetai means "cool") and just took advantage of being able to sit. When the children we getting ready to dance, out we went and found a place to stand while they lit bonfires in the street everywhere. The kids danced for an HOUR AND A HALF! I don't know how they did it! The musicians were awesome and wow what a long time to play continuously! Limor got in the line and practiced (since what the kids were doing was a shortened version of one of her dances) and I got some pictures and video. Then Limor came back and my back was hurting but I didn't say anything about it. I DID complain about the heat though. She asked if I was hungry and I said, "Not right now. The heat is getting to me." I guess I freaked her out because then she found us seats (charged in and got us some), and went off to get food. I ate some karage (fried chicken essentially) and one piece of takoyaki (octopus balls). Then it came time for her dances. I got more photos and video (the videos I got on my phone I'll put on fb ~ one I already put up). By then I had a pounding migraine, my mouth kept watering because my body wanted me to vomit, my skin felt tight, my back was killing me, and my nerves were getting pinched on the board I was sitting on. I kept telling myself to breathe deeply and slowly and kept saying, "You'll get through this. The yucky days always end at some point. Soon you'll be feeling better and being grateful you were here to see this awesome cultural event." At some point a bunch of people left the stadium seats behind me so I hesitated for a bit, but the pain was too awful and finally moved. The bench seating was so much better for my sciatic nerve and I kept breathing deeply and watching for Limor so I could get more photos and video. The poor girl was DRENCHED when she came back and exhausted and then I sent her back out since I hadn't been able to get video of the second dance because of her position. She got back out there like a champ, I got the video, and off we went to wait for the bus. (Oh! When the front desk called a taxi for us, he walked us across the street and showed us the bus so we wouldn't miss it. He was very sweet to us.) Luckily we were waiting for the bus early as it was packed by the time we left. We were SO grateful to get into the a/c and be seated in soft chairs with backs. I fanned Limor as we chatted and rode back. (We were the only young people on the bus.) The bus picked us up at 23h00 and we got back around quarter to midnight. We quickly stripped ~ er I did - I took off my clothes then had to help Limor with all hers, lol~, grabbed our hotel yukatas and off we went to the onsen. It was HEAVEN. (We weren't the same ones with the idea - we were in an onsen full of naked old ladies, lol!) The hot water on our aching muscles was so nice. I actually stayed a very long time in the onsen and only got out when Limor said she was ready to go back. When we got back to our room we discovered there was no water. So back out we went to a conbini and got some water and some ice cream (ice block, aka a popsicle for Limor). By the time we got back, it was 01h00. That is why this post is a day late, sorry. I hope you had a wonderful day! XOXO, A

Funny moments:

Each dang time we passed through the lobby, that giant, green grasshopper was lying in wait. I kid you not. It keep making me scream and run. (Limor called me a wuss non stop on this trip.) When we asked for the taxi, both a lady and a man were at the front. I told the lady (while the man was calling for the taxi) to be careful (kiotsukete) and pointed out the grasshopper. I told her it was scary (kowai) and she laughed and started following it to try and push it out the front door. It wouldn't leave though!

When we got back later, there was a small brown grasshopper in the hall - also scared me. Sheesh!

Our room at Yuzawa Onsen

That is an outlet sticking out of the ceiling... ya...

Limor went out for a cigarette, I sneaked a picture in her kasa!

Limor and the bonfire (main street)

Limor jumps in to practice with the kids (and other adults)

a dad helping his son dance - so cute! And the little girl in yellow was very good!

Limor in her gear

Limor dancing

Ok another funny story - these guys kept scaring people in the crowd  by yelling words at them (from the song) and they would sing the chorus - funny guys

Me after onsen - heats you up all over!