I was invited to attend the Kanto festival in Akita City on Tuesday night, this festival is held every summer in Akita which is the capital city. The purpose of the festival from what I have read , is to hope for a good harvest and good physical health. If your interested here is the linkhttp://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/fes03.html . Akita City was beautiful and a nice respite to being in my rural town, there were many young people, some foreigners , and great food. If you can imagine from the picture bamboo sticks around 30-40 ft high with the lights you see in the picture hanging from them. The men in the festival balance these structures on their body, face, hands, head, and mouth, its pretty impressive. While the balancing act is going on there is music, chanting, and people reveling in the atmosphere. From what I gather, it is one of the most popular festivals in Akita - Ken.
This experience also allowed me to meet other JETs in the area and to ride the train for the first time, I also got to see my friend alex who I is from phoenix but I havent seen since I got here. Although I didnt get home till midnight , because we missed the train on the way home, it was well worth it
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