While this was another official day, it was also a bit more casual. We would check out of the Irago View Hotel and load our luggage into the van. Then down to find the Irago Lighthouse on Koijigahama Beach.
Somebody says, "March!" and our intrepid band falls in line and marches forward.
Irago View Hotel on the hill.
Then into Tahara to help pull a 'dashi float' through the narrow streets of Tahara.
A dashi float is a 3-tiered shrine. The top tier has puppets that move and represent a certain god. The one on the dashi float we pulled represented fishing. The middle portion of the float has a place for the puppeteer. The lower part of the float has a bench on either side on which young people sit and play instruments and chant to encourage the pace of the people pulling and pushing on the float. Each dashi float has four very heavy wheels that don't have a mechanism on the axle to help you turn them. They literally must be lifted and turned and they are not light or easily moved at all. There are also two ropes attached to the front. These are long and stretched out on the ground in front of the float. When it is time, everyone grabs the ropes and helps to pull the float along. When pulling on the straight road the ropes are pulled from either side of the street. As you come to a corner that needs to be turned, the ropes are both given to one side of the street and pulled from that side. This is all directed by an adult who clearly has done this many times before and knows the routine. Strong young men are positioned at the handles coming out of the back and front of the float to help with the lifting at the turn and general steering. In front of the float are young people with colored flags. They chant to keep everyone at pace and moving.
There were three dashi floats in the Tahara Festival. One from each section of the city. At the appointed time, each float begins its journey from their area of the city. Then all three floats meet in the town in front of the museum that houses two of the floats and a kite museum. They are pulled into a side street and then backed into position in front of the museum. All of the men in our group were loaned 'happy coats' to wear during the parade of the dashi floats. Claude had looked for a happy coat before, but after wearing one he was yearning for a happy coat.
Here is our first view of the dashi float we would help pull. Claude is on the left of the picture.
This is the lower section of the float with the girls in costume that would play instruments and beat rhythm to help us keep going.
This is the top of the float and is really a portable shrine. In between it and the bottom would be the puppeteer to keep the figures on the shrine part moving.
And this is my Big Guy in his borrowed happy coat. There is a different pattern of fabric for each coat based on who the coat represents. It is sort of like when we road the Gold Wing. We wore a vest with patches symbolizing the Gold Wing Road Riders Association and the things we had accomplished. A happy coat serves that same purpose. The men lifting the floats also wear clothes with a specific pattern in the fabric unique to their location.
Here we are getting ready to pull on the rope.
And, here we are pulling on the rope.
I honestly don't know what this tree represents but it was carried all over the city.
These long poles with a cross piece of wood at the top are simply to lift the power and telephone lines taller than the float when it comes near them.
Here the guys are trying to pull the float at a corner turn. Notice the rope is all on one side of the street, there are young men pulling closer to the float. Then you can see the strained expression on the guys with the handle bars as they lift and move the float around the corner.
These girls are all dressed for the parade. There are so many things strung and hung on them.
Ran into this group of more mature citizens. They were wearing a light purple happy coat. I found my peer group and they are wearing my favorite color. They saw I wanted to take a picture so they grouped themselves and smiled.
Here is another view of the girls in their outlandish costumes. A far cry from the school uniforms of Seisho High School.
And finally all three floats are together in front of the museum.
Father and son getting ready for the short musical program.
In front of the floats, a musical performance was done. I thought I was getting video but I wasn't. I did get one picture of one of the girls playing a flute.
It was very sunny and very hot. I turned around to find most of our group taking advantage of what shade was available. Wacky Americans! I will admit that when we got to our new hotel room after this day in the sun, I kicked off my sandals and was concerned I was walking around with feet that dirty. Then I realized it was tan lines and not dirt! I acquired those tan lines this one day.
To get out of the heat, we all wandered into the kite portion of the museum. The kite festival is a very big deal in Tahara. Because of that, we have a kite festival in Georgetown. These are two of the homemade kites. The bamboo for the frames is allowed to season for a year to get the darker color before a kite is made from it.
We walked down the street to Centfare for lunch. We topped that with some Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream from the store next to the sandwich shop. While there, some floats were brought in and candy and rice cakes were tossed from them. When I say 'rice cake', I'm not talking about the kind we have here. These were round and about the size of a silver dollar. they were light in color and had a powder sprinkled on top of them that looked like powdered sugar but was not powdered sugar. They were each in a little plastic bag tied with a twisty tie. Clearly hand made by someone. The texture was not at all cake-like. It was more like a solid Jello texture, very chewy, very little flavor, not sweet.
We hiked from this activity to the library building and eventually found the TIA office where it was air conditioned and we sat and had something to drink. On this walk we went down the main street where booths were set with vendors. I saw this little cutie and her mom told her to wave at me. Now that is a nice photo op.
You would find these sticks with pink silk blossoms on them in yards, on fences, on cars, everywhere. They denote someone who contributed financially to the festival. The more flowers, the more they contributed. Not sure what this person contributed but it must have been a lot.
This is just a railing that marks off a parking area. I'm thinking you might park bicycles next to it. There were about a dozen of them in a grouping at the end of a road. Thought the birds for decoration on the top was a very cute idea.
Every bit of space is used. In between the main street and the library, we walked through a basket ball court and then a housing section. In the housing section was a bit of land and it had been turned into a pretty little garden plot. No space wasted.
This picture is just to remind me that EVERYWHERE there were vending machines with soda, coffee and water in them. The American soda was most often Coke and sometimes Pepsi. The only diet soda I saw was Coke Zero. They also had Sprite and Ginger Ale. No other American soda was available, not even in the McDonald's. They did have a bottle of water flavored like tomato juice. It was clear but tasted like tomato juice and was very refreshing.
This is the Public Library. To the left and attached to it by a hallway is the Gymnasium where we watched karate lessons and volleyball. On the mail level on the far left side of this picture was the TIA office.
After our rest and re-hydration in the TIA office, we were loaded back onto our bus and taken to the Wind City Hotel where we would stay the next two nights. We were given a little time to freshen up before the TIA Welcome Party that evening.
The TIA Welcome Party was at Kazan Hall. Remarks were made by all the important officials. This picture is Director of TIA, Okamoto Yoshihiro. He was cute as he read his speech in English.
We had a lovely dinner. I only got to eat portions of it because of a delightful conversation with one our table mates. He had pictures of his trip to Georgetown. One of them was of City Hall and the Courthouse. I told him that the building between was where my dentist was located. He told me his name and we became friends of Facebook. Then he told me his English teacher suggested he have an American name. He had chosen Bob. He really liked the sound of Bob. I could remember Bob. Seated to Claude's left was Bob's friend. It seems Bob and two others had taken English classes together years before and become very good friends. So, we now knew Bob and his two friends Tom (he said he looked like Tom Cruz) and Clinton. I should have had no fear of not speaking Japanese at this function as Bob and I chatted away the entire time.
At one point in the program, they had all of us join in singing a song everyone seems to know. If you Google the name 'Sukiyaki' you will find YouTube versions of this song and you will immediately recognize the melody. This picture is Bob helping Claude sing and follow the words. I did get this on video.
This is Director Yoshihiro receiving his official gift from Claude.
And this is our new friends, Tom and Bob on either side of me with Claude in front.
It was a great welcome party. Then we all had to hurry down the street to where the bands were playing.
On rolling stages that were pulling out into the main street, there were at least 7-8 groups singing and dancing each on its own stage. It was a wall of music and energy. Kids dancing and singing along in the street in front of the portable stages. Adults singing along and watching. The vendors selling their wares or people playing their games. It was just delightful. Claude and walked and listened a bit to each band. Then we found a vendor selling something to eat. It turned out to be a can of frozen mandarin oranges. We bought two and were given two little paddles that served as spoons. They were so yummy after a hot day in the sun. Great way to end this day in Tahara. We plan on freezing mandarin oranges at home for a nice summer treat.
As we walked back to the bus, we passed three ladies in kimonos. I indicated I would like a picture of them. One of them took my camera and told me to get by Claude and she took this picture of us with these people we do not even know but enjoyed just the same.
Back to the Wind City Hotel for some rest to perk our energy level for our last full day in Tahara.
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