Takko Machi Beef and Garlic Festival!
I went up to Takko Machi with some friends because there was a festival going on. The festival was mainly to celebrate “garlic.” That’s right, “garlic.” Takko Machi is actually one of the world’s top three garlic distributors. They also have their very own Garlic Queen as you will see in the photos below. At this event, they had a visiting Garlic Queen from one of the other two major cities, Gilroy, California. The queens performed on stage, mostly just singing. Something notable about the queen from California was that she sang like she was in a Disney movie.
Needless to say, the garlic was great at this festival. They had an open roast of an entire cow, yes, an ENTIRE COW. It was being roasted over an open flame. By the time we arrived there, half the cow had been cut up and portioned out already for consumption. It was 500JPY a slice! I couldn’t wait that long, so I went to the other BBQ tables and bought a pre-made package of beef and vegetables. Aside from the windy conditions at first, the BBQ went well.
Among the many performances, there were two that stood out the most. One was the local cultural dances. The second was the Misawa Air Base Line Dancing team. In any case, enjoy the pictures!
Salmon Catch Festival!
I went to a festival recently. It is called the Salmon Catch Festival. At this festival, you get the chance to stand in a makeshift pool and try to catch live salmon with your bare hands! Unfortunately, this year, there was an unusually large amount of jelly fish that decided to make their way over here. The catching event was cancelled because they usually scoop the salmon out of the river, and then pour them directly into the makeshift pool. With the abundance of jelly fish, there was no way they could ensure the safety of all the people.
Despite that, the festival was still a blast. They had open grills for people to sit and eat for lunch. You spend 1000JPY and you receive a package with three assorted meats from the local town, a bag of vegetables, and of course, the sauce for the meat. Needless to say, it was a delicious meal and luckily they sold beers as well! Anyhow, enjoy the photos! I will add more details later.
[Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L, 580EXII]
Halloween 2009 in Japan!
I took some Japanese students Trick-or-Treating on base. They attend the school where I teach English. This was the first time for many of them to experience something that is usually only in America. They were all excited to go because it was like a little taste of American life, without having to leave the comfort of their home, Japan. Enjoy the photos!
[Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L, 580EXII]
