Tanabata Festival

Last weekend Mobara shi held it's annual Tanabata Matsuri (town festival) and I was asked to join in the fun!

What does Tanabata mean?

The literal translation is "the evening of the seventh" and therefore the actual date is on the 7th of July. However, school summer holidays start later in the month so the festival is put off until the third weekend. The feast itself represents the meeting of the two stars Vega and Altair. The legend says that these two stars are lovers but are separated by the milky way and can only meet once a year on Tanabata day. These stars represent two Japanese deities Orihime and Hikoboshi.

There is also a famous Chinese folk story which came to Japan and is associated with tanabata festival. The story is about a princess and a cow shepherd who fall in love but can not be together. The princess is the daughter of the Sky King and she wove beautiful clothe. However, she worked so hard that she never had time to find someone to love. Hence, the king introduces her the the cow shepherd and fall in love immediately. They neglect  their duties and she weaves no clothes and his cows run wild on the meadows. This angers the King and he separates them by a river. The princess is heart-broken and cries so much that eventually the King concedes and allows them to see each other once a year. So, the 7th of July the birds come down to the river and form a bridge allowing the princess to cross and meet her love. However, it can not rain or else the birds can't build a bridge and the lovers must wait until year. If it those rain on the day, the rain is said to be the Princess's tears.

The Matsuri Celebrations

The matsuri itself is a big event! It is carried out over two days (Saturday and Sunday) and involves a lot of activities and events. On both days, groups of people perform their dances on the main streets whilst spectators line the streets to watch. These dances are amazing to watch as they include traditional Japanese costumes and props. Some members of my company make up one of the dance troupes and I joined in the dancing.

We organized three dances:

The first dance was a ladies dance and involves a kimono costume, geta shoes and a traditional Japanese hat known as a kasa. I was lucky enough to watch the ladies getting dressed before the performance. I can honestly tell you that putting on a kimono is no joke! The ladies had hired help to dress them and I honestly think that this is an art. It reminded me how closely related pain and beauty are in this culture. It was one of those memories imprinted in my mind.

The second dance involves the use of uchiwa (fans which are broad and flat) and the costume is known as a happi. This is similar to a yuugata but shorter and has a pair of shorts beneath. I danced this dance which includes both men and women. The ladies in our dance had to have their torsos wrapped so as to hold everything in place whilst dancing. I came to realize just how different Japanese and Mediterranean women are built physically after this wrapping experience. Needless to say it hurts!

The third dance involves a Japanese lantern prop known as a choochin which is made from a bamboo frame and wrapped in paper or silk. The members of this dance are all male and the dance itself was amazing.

The Japanese style of dance is everything you could imagine it to be. The moves are precise and clean cut yet very graceful. The dance moves are powerful and yet the dancers are lithe and move with speed and elegance. The techniques are intricate. The music is also traditional making use of Japanese instruments to create an unique sound.

Other groups carried out other dances wearing different costumes and different instruments. There were also stalls selling food and children's toys. It was a nice atmosphere and many people turned up decked in yuugata and kimono.  On a less positive note, this year the dances were cut short due to electricity shortage. The evening dances were cancelled so as to save light. Also, the dancers weren't given alcohol during the dance which is unusual. I think this year the promoters wanted to show a sign of respect by limiting the alcohol present. The festival itself was going to be cancelled but people thought that the people of Mobara and surrounding areas needed so cheering up so they proceeded.

It was an amazing an experience to be part of and I really enjoyed it. We had a nomikai afterwards which was organized by the company and later went to karaoke.

China: Shanghai

In my last post, I blogged about my short trip to Beijing. From Beijing, I caught a bullet sleeper train to Shanghai. I highly recommend these trains. Firstly, they are ideal for an overnight trip. The trip is twelve hours long and if you buy the T class tickets, you are provided with a comfortable bed. If you are going for a short time and don't want to waste time on a plane, I would recommend these trains. We left Beijing at twenty to nine in the evening and arrived in Shanghai at around half eight in the morning. This allowed us to spend the whole day in Beijing before the train ride and the whole day in Shanghai after the trip with a good night sleep in between. I honestly think it's a win-win situation. An added bonus is that you can buy the tickets online and have them delivered to your hotel a few days before your planned journey.

So, arrived in Shanghai early in the morning ready to explore. We located the hotel which I am happy to note was located very close to the Bund. It was very classy and the room was quite lush. However, the hotel was undergoing renovations. The website through which I booked the hotel did not inform us about the works and I booked a delux room which meant we were on the 14th floor. It would have been great if the renovations weren't being carried out on the 17th and 18th floor. This resulted in three days of non-stop noise. All I heard was the sound of drillers and jigsaws. It was terribly noisy and disturbing. However, whilst checking out we did complain and the management complimented our buffet breakfast.

 The location of the hotel was idle as it was right off the Bund; this is the main promenade of Shanghai that runs along the Huangpu River.  The river divides Shanghai into two parts Pudong and Puxi. Puxi (West) is the older part of the city and the side on which the The Bund is located. Pudong (East) is the newer area and is known as an Open Economic Development zone. There are many hotels lining the Bund; one of my favourites was the Bund Indigo Hotel which looked perfect!

The Bund

The Bund is a pleasant walk. Coffee shops and designer shops litter the road side while boats are berthed along the pier. If you don't enjoy walking, you can also catch a boat ride up and down the length of the Bund. We walked up and down and took our time to discover and explore.

We also visited the Shanghai Yuyuang Gardens and the surrounding bazaars too. I recommend this area of the city as it is a part of Old Shanghai and hence encaptures a piece of Chinese culture and architecture which is beautiful to walk through. Whilst in the bazaar, we discovered this amazing restaurant which makes delicious dumplings. Take my word for it, it is worth the wait! They were absolutely mouth-watering! I don't remember the name of the restaurant but if you walk through the Bazaar and see a long queue of people and the dumpling sign...join the queue!

Yuyuang Gardens

Yuyaung Gardens 

The amazing dim sum

Nanjing road is a well-known road due to the large number of shopping centres which line both sides of the road. I enjoyed Nanjing as it completely paved and car free and also because Mojo cafe is situated somewhere along the road. This cafe is great and serves a wicked English breakfast with a chocolate muffin on the side :) The place itself is pretty cool too!

The area where the theater is located

Evenings were also pretty busy! We did dine in the hotel restaurant which was on the 19th floor and hence the view was pretty awesome. The food was tasty too! My lamb was served pink and tender and the cheesecake dessert hit the spot too. Another evening we watched a Chinese acrobatics show at the Shanghai National theater which was pretty impressive. The audience weren't allowed to take any photos so unfortunately I don't have any to post. However, the show was cool and what you would expect from Chinese acrobats. I did find it incredibly entertaining and the tickets weren't too expensive either. Also, the location where the theater's location is rather rich and glitzy. It was nice to walk around and see how the other side live (with Gucci on one side and Prada on the other!) Luckily, we could afford a coffee from Starbucks before the show :)


 My last day in Shanghai, I crossed the river and explored the Pudong area of the city. This part is worth a visit as it is really modern and posh. They say that the main road of Pudong known as Century Avenue, is the Champs- Elysees of Asia. I'm not too sure about that... However, it is home to some very classy shopping malls which are massive and also Pearl Tower and Shanghai tower. I did not visit Pearl Tower but I did visit Shanghai tower and my it is tall! Shanghai Tower holds the record as the World's tallest observatory standing at an impressive 475 metres high. It is a giant and hence makes everything else look like a miniature. I did manage to get to the top before my fear of heights gave me a heart attack and it is an impressive sight. Not only do you have a 365 degree view of the city but they also inserted glass panes in the floor and hence you can look straight down to the road below you. Also, on the first floor of the building, a model of the city has been installed. It displays the city during the day as well as night with the sky becoming dark and the city lights turning on.

The Shanghai Tower 

Shanghai City model

I really do wish that I spent some more time in Shanghai but it was a nice Golden Week holiday and I off I flew back to Mobara!