Taiko, Mikoshi and New Friends

Today, we had no school. When I asked Mai what we were doing, she told me that today was the day of a festival for the town. I wasn't sure what to expect, but, as always, I was excited.

At 10am, Mai and I walked a few houses down to a community-hall type building. Here, there were many people,old and young,already there preparing for the festival. The first thing I saw was the beautifully decorated truck. Mai explained that they would be playing taiko (Japanese drums) and Japanese flute while driving around the town.And I was lucky enough to be allowed to sit in with them while they did. 

In the truck, they had two small taiko, one big one and two Japanese flutes.They took turns playing to avoid getting tired. They had two people to play the big taiko, five to play small taiko and two for the flutes. I found it really interesting how they played. All the different parts felt independent and had what sounded to me like difficult rhythms, but when you focused on the entire sound, everything felt like it fitted, and it sounded amazing. There were a few different songs they played while driving around the town for about two hours. Those two hours were probably my favorite experience I had in Japan. The impressive, beautiful music mixed with the stunning scenery was an amazing combination. 

In the evening, we met outside a Family Mart where the next part of the festival would start. It would involve carrying the "Mikoshi". The Mikoshi is like a house in which many Japanese believe a god/deity lives in. During this festival, they carry the mikoshi around to bless the town with good luck,health and happiness. I'm grateful that I was able to come to Japan at this time so that I was able to experience this festival.I had a lot of fun walking with Naru, Ami and Hikaru and will miss talking to them,even though we had to use google translate a lot. 

Im grateful to my host family for giving me this experience, and I will treasure it forever!