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!

Shanghai Ryu and other Ramen-ya

We went to Towada Friday and Saturday and both times we decided to stop at a Ramen restaurant. (two different restaurants). The first one is called Shanghai Ryu Chinese Restaurant. They have mostly ramen and a few other dishes. Ramen is considered Chinese because they use Chinese noodles. Don’t be fooled by the outside of the building. Looking inside from the outside it doesn’t look like a great place to eat but once you are inside, it really has a nice atmosphere. They have seats at the bar, tables, and tatami sections. The ramen here is very good too!   

The next Ramen shop I unfortunately don’t know the name. It is along route 10 (as is Shanghai Ryu) and next to a Lawson’s. The menus are all in Japanese. I was lucky enough to go with someone who could read Kanji. I didn’t ask if they had an English menu so I don’t know if they have one or not. This place was really small, regular tables and seats at the bar. The walls are just plywood, but don’t be fooled, the ramen here is really good as well!   


Directions to the ramen shops from POL gate: go straight  toward Towada City. You will see Shanghai Ryu first on your left (about 10-15km) and the other shop is after it  on the left next to a Lawson’s. A long blue building is behind it (I think they have batting cages there). 

Nebuta Festival

The Nebuta Festival is in Aomori City. We made the mistake of going on the very LAST day of the festival so it was extremely crowded! Not only the festival was crowded but we went there by train and it filled up FAST! We went home on the speed train and it
                            
was much more comfortable. (less people, air conditioned, personal seats). The floats went by but I couldn’t see anything because there were so many people. BUT afterward they did have them on display so I could at least see them! I felt like I didn’t do much at the festival, I spent most of my time waiting in line for the restroom. (which was inside the triangle building). We had some fried chicken and chicken skin and that was a bit of a mistake on my part. Waaay too greasy for my weak stomach. Well, lesson learned. I do love festival food though, it seemed they lacked variety at this one , but  we did only stop at one food stand. (I didn’t see too many.) Of course, there was a spectacular fireworks display as well. We went on Saturday and I heard that on Tuesday evening it was not as crowded. Next time we’ll go earlier. If you want to beat the crowd for a festival, go early in the week! That’s all for this post. Ja-ne!