Not Just Ninjas

Only if you live in Tohoku are you lucky enough for cherry blossom season and Golden Week to intersect. Ever since I saw revellers sitting out in Kyoto, drinking sake under the blossoms and the stars, I’ve been awaiting my chance to do the same in Noshiro. While the blossoms are finally, finally here, the social aspect kept falling through for some reason.

Last weekend we made plans to party with my adult English class, but the weather was cold and the blossoms weren’t out yet. Tuesday, our English club at the high school was going to make a go of it after school, until two of the girls were caught shoplifting. After that incident it was considered in poor taste to go out and have fun, so the girls stayed after school to do English drills instead. I was invited to not one, but TWO tea ceremony/flower viewing parties last Thursday, but unfortunately, I caught the crud that’s been going around the high school, and I was incapacitated by a 24 hour flu.

So this weekend, with the trees in full bloom, we created our own sakura gameplan. Plan A was to wander through the park near our house, and try to get ourselves “pulled in” to an ongoing party. We arrived a bit late in the festivities, as everyone was winding things up just before sunset, but we did have some nice exchanges with these friendly construction workers, who fancied a good frolic on the swing set.

The rest of the weekend, we went chasing blooms. The most magnificent display was just to the north in Hachimori, which boasts an entire hillside covered in cherry trees. We also checked out two castle parks in the not so near Akita City, but these didn’t hold a candle to the parks closer to home.

On Monday, we were satisfied with the blossom element, but still searching out the party. We said screw it, plan B, we’re going to make our own party. So three of us, all English teachers from America, bravely trotted out to the park, plentiful goodies and alcoholic supplies underarm. No sooner did we all crack open a beer when we were swept into an adjacent party (see plan A).

We were invited to join a party of Izakaya owners and goers, which means they all frequent a particular pub ’n grub establishment in town. It also means they are very practiced at having a good time. This crew brought several dozen glass steins and a beer keg to the park! Festival food for the offering included someone’s tentacles, denuded shellfish, remarkably lifelike shrimp with all the appropriate appendages still attached. We ate hanami dango and sausages and grilled veggies. The party also included a long haired dachsund, who would run amok on the picnic blanket, spilling food and dragging food in his wake.

And now we’re off to Osaka to enjoy the rest of the long weekend. Happy Golden Week, y’all!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 at 2:47 pm and is filed under Ambiance, Festivals and Events, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.