Cosmos Festival

I woke up a little early today to get ready for another Yosakoi performance. This time it was at the Cosmos Festival in Ochi. However, when I first got up, it was pouring rain. The noise of it was basically a dull roar. I wasn't sure if the festival would be canceled, so I got ready anyway. Around the time that I expected, a team member came to pick me up. I got pretty wet just running from the entryway to my apartment to her car, which was only about 15 feet away, even though I was using an umbrella.

During the drive to Ochi, I frequently wondered if it was actually safe to be on the road. The visibility was terrible and the road looked slick. At one point, we pulled over at a grocery store to wait for the rain to lighten up, because driving was just too scary. However, the rain did improve a bit, and we started driving again. I wasn't really looking forward to dancing in the rain.

We stopped in Ino to meet up with two other ALTs who would be performing with us that day. Their names were Matthew and Valerie. Matthew was the person I had initially contacted to join the team. I was shuffled over to their car and rode the rest of the way with them.

As we got closer to the festival grounds, the rain became lighter and eventually stopped. I was surprised; the way things were going, I figured it would rain all day. We found a spot to park and waited for Yamanaka-sensei's instructions. We ended up hanging around in the parking area (which was a soggy field) for an hour or so, not really sure what the next step was. Once the rain had stopped, it was very warm and humid. I felt a little awkward as I was the only person who had come in their costume, but eventually everyone changed into theirs as well. We practiced the dance twice and then went to wait for our turn to perform.

At the festival grounds, the food stalls were set up in a large U shape, with a long canopied area in the middle of the U where viewers could sit. There was a covered stage at the very front. When we arrived, there was some sort of traditional performance going on. A man in a red ogre mask was dancing with a fan, a stick with some paper on the end, and eventually with swords. There was a group of musicians accompanying him. I think there were two drums, cymbals, and a lady who occasionally chanted things. This performance went on for at least 15 minutes. After that there was a singer who came from Hiroshima for the event. It sounded like maybe she comes every year. She sang five songs, and then it was our turn to perform. I was a little nervous because today I was at the front of the group and I hadn't been able to go to practice on account of Japanese class. Things went fine, though, and the audience (mostly old people) seemed to enjoy it.

After our performance, the singer sang another song, and then a subgroup of the Yosakoi team performed last year's dance. It turns out that the singer was the person who arranged our music for the Yosakoi festival. She had combined one of her songs with the requisite folk songs to make the track that we used. I enjoyed her voice, but all of the songs started to sound alike to me after a while. When we were done performing, we were given coupons to get food at a food stall. I got some yakisoba and a bottle of tea, and Kaze shared some barbequed meat on a stick with me.

After we all ate our food, I went on a short walk with Sayaka and Junko to look at the main attraction: the cosmos fields. The flowers were very pretty. Unfortunately, I hadn't brought my camera because I assumed it would rain all day, and didn't want the camera to get soaked. We spent a few minutes looking at the flowers, and then went back to where the rest of the group was. By then it was time to leave, and not a minute too soon; it started raining again. Matthew and Valerie had left a bit earlier, so I rode with a different person. I don't actually know her name, but she was friendly enough. Though I hadn't really done much, I was very tired and became quite sleepy on the way home.

Overall, I can't decide whether I enjoyed the Cosmos Festival or not. The flowers were nice and it was in a beautiful area, but the festival itself was actually a little boring. I enjoyed dancing again but I'm not entirely sure it was worth spending the better part of my day on. I don't know whether I'll join the team for the next performance, which I think is for a Sports Festival at an adult school. I may have had my fill of Sports Festivals. Of course, Yamanaka-sensei may very well talk me into it. Despite the fact that I don't understand the better part of what she says, she's very persuasive. Matthew had actually commented on that during the drive over; she's so enthusiastic about Yosakoi that she's very hard to say no to. I guess we'll see what happens.