A Shrine, A Swamp, A Castle, A Geyser

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Ben and I went on a field trip with the Uenohara English Conversation Club today. It was a perfect day for a feild trip and we had an amazing time. We went to Suwa, in the prefecture of Nagano, it was about a 2 hour drive, and worth every minute.

Our first stop was Suwa-Taisha Shrine. Today was considered a lucky day, so we were able to see two weddings. Traditional shinto weddings are quite somber. Everyone is suppose to wear all black, except the bride, who wears all white. All the attendants of the wedding maintain a very serious face, and their are many processionals throughout the ceremony. The bride begins the ceremony in a hood, which hides her horns of jealousy from the gods, and demonstrate that she is a maiden fit to be married. During the ceremony the bride and groom observe a tradition called san-san-kudo, where they drink 3 glasses of sake 3 times together (a total of 9 glasses of sake). I really have no idea how walk in their traditional shoes, let alone stay sombre after that many drinks. 

                                        

After the shrine we went to a swamp. It was beautiful and serene. The clouds were changing above us so quickly, that it was almost dizzying.  The rolling hills and warm sun were positively spectacular.

After the swamp we went to Takagima castle. It looked how I pictured Japan before coming here. It was grand, angular, and exotic. The gardens surrounding it were lovely. They were manicured to perfection, and had a perfect balance of sun exposure, and cool shade.

     

After the castle we visited a geyser near Suwa Lake. I love geysers, and I don't think I'll ever grow out of the anticipation and excitement cycles I always feel. They are like natures fireworks. Geysers are one of those things that taking pictures only detracts from the experience, so instead I leave you with a picture being exactly a boy.

7th day of the 7th month

Their was a Tanabata festival in town today. It was very fun, there were game booths, and lots of food.  There were fish catching statioins, where people could win the fish they caught. I got a shaved ice (they are really good, nothing like the terrible ones at home). Ben got a special soda which was like sprite with melon syrup in it. We got a gift of two lanterns, which was really nice, I think we were given the lanterns because we were a cute couple.

Fish booth

It was very difficult for Ben and I to get around because everywhere we went we saw students who were ecstatic that we were there. We stopped and talked to most of them, which was fun. Many of their parents were excited to see us as well. Many of them were wearing traditional Japanese style festival clothes, they were very cute.
We had a great time, unfortunately it started pouring. The festival was only a couple of blocks away from our house, so we just went home, our students thought it was so funny to see us walking home soaking wet.
The story of Tanabata

Orihime (織姫 Weaving Princess), daughter of the Tentei (天帝 Sky King, or the universe itself), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川 Milky Way, lit. "heavenly river"). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星 Cow Herder Star) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet.

Sign Please!

I was walking home when a group of girls came running up to me screaming.
Katie-sensei, Katie-sensei, sign please!
They all had pens and paper, and were eagerly awaiting my autograph. It was a bizzare moment for me. I'm not sure if they mistook me for someone famous (though they knew my name),  if I have become that infamous in town, or if they just really like foreigners signatures.
After letting the wave of confusion wash over me, I did infact sign their papers, I even pulled out my stamps, and ink, and stamped "you're awesome" next to the signature.
I'm still a little dumfounded, but seeing as this is probably the closest I will ever come to being a star.... I'll just take a moment to enjoy it.