Although it was raining, I went to Kawagoe matsuri (川越祭まつり) with my friends. It took one and half hour from my dormitory. The festival area was quite large. Luckily, one of my friends has planned a route that we followed.
We saw different festival floats pulled/pushed by many people. On the floats, there was a dancer and few people playing different instruments (eg. flute, drums, bell). It really was a shame that the wheater wasn't good, because float were covered with plastic to protect it from rain. Otherwise the floas would have looked more impressive.
In addition to the festival floats, there were also stages where a dancer wearing traditional costumes (or animal costume) were performing simple but emotinal dance.
When you think about matsuri, you can't forget the food. Kawagoe matsuri also had lots of stalls selling okonomiyaki, takoyaki and bananas dipped in chocolate, etc. All looked delicious, and prices were at aound 300-500 yen. We all ate okonomiyaki made in Hiroshima style. We also tried wafer and banana both dipped in chocolate. We came to the conclusion that Japanese like food sticked on disposable chopsticks (at least the festival foods). For example, apple, banana, wafer and cucumber.
We also popped into different shops selling expensive chopsticks and Hello Kitty store.
We also visited Honmaru Goten (本丸御殿) of Kawagoe Castle. The enterance fee was 50 yen for university students. (Adults: 100 yen) Honmaru Goten wasn't very big and there were no furnitures in the rooms, but floor covered with tatami still gave an expression of traditional residence. Moreover, the garden of Honmaru Goten was very beautiful. We took lots of pictures there. After we left Honmaru Goten, we realized that is had closed. One important thing you have to remember when you visit museums, gardens etc.in Japan is that they close very early. Most places close between 16-17. So if you are planning to visit many spots, don't forget to check the opening hours and be early.
I had a great day, although we didn't see Hikkawase, the main event of the festival (it was cancelled due to the rain) and shoes were soaking wet. Looking foward to next festival~~!
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| 秋葉原の猫 どうして写真を撮って~ |
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| 上野の猫 なに？ |
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| 新宿の猫 暑い～～ |
After getting brand new ALIEN card and luggages, I took an express bus from Narita Airport to Shinjuku. There I was going to spend my first day in Japan. The weather was very very hot. It wan't fun to push/pull 27 kg suitcase to hotel. The hotel where I stayed was Hotel Rose Garden Shinjuku. It was clean and nice hotel. The staff was also very friendly.
Near the hotel there was a park. (I don't know the name xD) People were eating lunch and just sitting on the bench. I also visited the shrine in the park.
For luch I ate udon with some kind of tempura. First I chose the food I want, then bought a ticket from vending machine, step inside the restaurant(?) andI gave the ticket to the staff. I have never "ordered" food in that way. That really was something new.
Rest of the day I tried to find train to Shibuya. It was very confusing because Shinjuku station is in two part. Because I didn't know that, I was walking around the same area over and over again. I had already given up, when I saw the sign to the right platform.
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| Night view |
I have to visit Shinjuku one more time since there are still many placec that I haven't went to. It would be wonderful to Shinjuku Gyoenで散歩する.
Hello everyone!
I'm exchange student from Aalto University in Finland. This year I'm going to spend in Japan as a YSEP (Young Scientist Exchange Program) student in Tokyo Tech. My major is Biotechnology and Food technology and in Japan I'm in Bioengineering laboratory.
I will try my best to upload posts and share experiences (regularly) :P
