Misawa Summer Festival

                                 
The Misawa Mikoshi Festival was an amazing experience for me because I actually got to participate in a festival! The Misawa International Association was looking for people to carry their Mikoshi float in the parade. It was 1500 yen to sign up. I was a bit skeptical at first, I thought it was a pretty high price to pay to carry a float. I thought maybe we would be able to keep Happi Coats or something. Unfortunately, I did have to give my Happi Coat back but we were able to keep our headbands. Also, there was a lot of food before the parade. And beer, and a truck full of beer behind us!   Because I am so short, I didn’t really get to carry the float. But I did do a lot of cheering and became one of the many beer wenches. (When teams switched shifts, somebody had to hold the beer). There was a lot of camaraderie and a lot of fun!
We found out that we actually had to perform in front of judges! We actually performed twice (second time was for finals)  So we got all hyped up, were completely unorganized, threw that mikoshi in the air like it was our hero, made a lot of noise and danced around wildly…and won first place.
It was an great experience and totally worth the 1500 yen!