Japan Loves Festivals!!!

I have found it interesting that the Japanese people seem to really love festivals.  They love anything related to showing the spirit of a festival or a holiday.  So much so that they have seemed to embrace Christmas, not for it's religious meaning of course, but rather for the holiday decorations and festive spirit that are associated with it.  In fact in early November when I visited, I saw Christmas decorations already up close to my hotel in Tokyo.  Amazing.

Back in May of 2004 during a visit up in Sendai, our group just happened to come across a festival parade in full swing going through the downtown.  Many different groups were dressed up in different colored outfits.

It was a very impressive sight.  Incredible organization. Incredible participation.  Incredible spirit!

Spaced in between many of the various groups were these really cool looking floats (or that is what we would call them in America).  That is probably not the right word.  They were quite large, and obviously built with much care and color.

All of the people seemed to be having a very fun time.  We watched for around 30 minutes as they passed in front of us down the main street of downtown Sendai.  Many thanks to my friend Ken who took some of these great pictures with his at the time very new, cool camera.

Yes, it seems that everyone in Japan loves a festival.  And what is wrong with that?  Nothing!!!

Then and Now

I am not sure why, but I have always been fascinated by pictures taken from the same spot and with the same view from long ago and then present.  You can see what has stayed the same, and what has changed with the passage of time.  In that regard I submit to you two photos.  The first, which is one of my favorites and was mentioned here, was taken in December of 1994.

I tried to take a very similar picture from around the same spot on my recent trip in November of 2011.  Here is what it looks like today.

I was a little bit off on my spot and angle, but I think it is still effective, and an amazing example of change.

Nov. 2010 Japan Trip - Post #11: Matsushima Bay

It seems a bit more difficult to recount stories from my trip to Japan in November of 2010 now that I have returned from my recent visit.  There are so many new stories to tell.  However I am determined to fully chronicle my special 2010 trip with my wife, and thus this effort will continue.  I will mix some new in with the old, as the beauty of this blog is that there is no natural order of things by time, but rather just by what happens to be in my head at the moment.

With that in mind, I would like to share with you a wonderful afternoon we had out on Matsushima Bay in Nov. of 2010 with my good friend Sam.  Sam met Mary and I at our hotel (the Century) for a planned boat cruise through the bay and then lunch over at Shiogama before heading back for the return trip.  Sam knew a decent Italian restaurant over at Shiogama, and with Mary's culinary range being a bit narrow, I was eager to get her some food she would feel more comfortable with.  Matsushima has a number of different boat companies that operate various trips around the beautiful islands that dot the bay.  We chose one and off we went!

It is about a 30 to 45 minute ride from Matsushima town over to Shiogama.  It is a winding traverse, through the famous Matsushima oyster beds as well as the pine tree covered islands.

There seems to be a tradition of feeding the birds (seagulls) from these boats.  They even sell food at the docks to make it easy for you.  For some reason, I do not see the beauty in this tradition, as I think it is unnatural for birds to be fed by humans.

The resulting flock of hungry participants crowd the skies off the back end of all of the boats and to me slightly detracts from the amazing beauty of the scenery all around you.  A minor detail, but hey, I am a purist.

Once at Shiogama, we took in a nice lunch which included salad and very good thin crusted pizzas.

The lunch was perfect.  A nice place with a view of the harbor.  Very good Italian food, and the beer was refreshing.  Sad to note that this place, which was right in front of where the cruise boats dock was wiped out by the tsunami just four months later.  I doubt they are going to be able to rebuild it, but we shall see.

The ride back to Matsushima was not as smooth as the first leg of the journey.  Regrettably the waves splashed water over the windows which rendered some of the pictures we took useless.  Once back in Matsushima, we took a walk along the main road through town.  While we did just take a lunch not too long ago, we decided to stop in at one of the waterfront restaurants because I said that while here I wanted to try Matsushima's famous oysters.  We found this great little place on the second floor of a small building right around the corner from our hotel.  It was a traditional style place where we sat on the floor.  We ordered a small plate of oysters, half of them raw, and the other half baked.  They were the best tasting oysters I have ever had.  I just wished I had taken a picture of these beauties before I swallowed them down.  They were so good, I could not decide which one's I liked better!!  All in all, another great day in Japan.  Thank you Sam!!!!

My Friend Matsuzaki-san

So after my recent trip to Japan, I think it would be most appropriate for my next post to talk about a former co-worker friend of mine Matsuzaki-san.  I have known Matsuzaki-san for a number of years, as his work and mine brought us together while he was stationed at our factory up in Tagajo.  Then a few years ago he transferred assignments and worked out of our Tokyo HQ.  During that time, our business was not related, but I still kept in loose touch.  Here is a picture of Matsuzaki-san from a "meeting" in Tokyo in 2006.

So why do I have this post to profile this man?  Well a couple of years ago (maybe a little less), Matsuzaki-san retired from the company.  He moved back to Sendai, and pondered life after the company, and what direction he should go in.  Then fate stepped in and guided him.  The disaster of March 11th, 2011 as everyone knows caused much heartache and suffering in the Tohoku region.  Matsuzaki-san felt compelled to act.  He joined the "Save the Children Japan" organization, and since then has been assisting with all of their activities related to the recovery efforts up north.  On my recent trip, Matsuzaki-san was kind enough to join a group of coworkers for an after hours party up in Tagajo.  He asked me if I knew of the group Linkin Park and that they had just visited Japan.  Coincidentally, I had just watched the video below BEFORE I went to Japan, so I said yes and that I heard they went up to Ishinomaki City.  He was surprised that I knew, and said he was a part of the Save the Children group that went with them.  When I returned to the U.S., I watched the video again, and if you look closely, there he was, Matsuzaki-san.  I hope you can watch this video all the way to the end.  It is really good stuff.

It really made me feel good to see Matsuzaki-san again, and to hear of his recent job and efforts.  How fulfilling it must be for him to help the children up in Tohoku recover from such devastation.  If any readers feel so inclined, feel free to make a donation to this worthy cause.  The website can be found by clicking on this link:  http://www.savechildren.or.jp/jpnem/eng/index.html.  At our recent party in Miyagi, I had a chance to sing one of my favorite karaoke songs with Matsuzaki-san, who is quite a good singer - Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World".  Here is a shot of it, before Matsuzaki-san had to leave for the night.

Despite such sadness and despair, there can be found happiness and hope.  I plan to keep in touch with Matsuzaki-san in the future, and will make a strong effort for our paths to cross again.  I am proud of him and what he is doing, and am happy to call him my friend.