Tamba Sasayma Wild Boar Festival

Shortly after arriving in Miki, we heard about the annual Tamba Sasayama wild boar festival. Sasayama is in central Hyogo, slightly more rural than Miki, and it is famous for its botan nabe (wild boar hot pot). The festival is a celebration of wild boar cuisine and the boar itself.

The main event is a race between three boar piglets that is held three times during the event. After seeing pictures online, we were a little surprised when we saw how short the "race track" was. Some other English teachers said they arrived one minute after the first race and had already missed it!

Eating delicious boar burgers

We went and tried some boar cuisine including the botan nabe, which seemed very healthy and had an excellent miso broth. We also enjoyed the original "tambaga" or wild boar Tamba burger. One of the main events was a boar roast, which sold out before we could buy any. We did however get over to the barbecue, where the roaster was grilling up bones so people could taste the scraps of meat that stuck to them. I struck up a conversation with the roaster, and he gave me some choice bones. He was going to discard the head as inedible, but a couple of fellow English teachers insisted he try grilling it. The end result appears like a giant drumstick but is really just a skull with a bit of meat to pick off.

We looked for seats around 30 minutes before the race. We found some with a good view, but they were ground seats, which meant we battled the cold and our feet falling asleep while we waited. I'll let the video speak for itself, but once the race actually started, it was a fun and fast show!

On the way home, we decided to go to the Kobe Sanda Premium Outlets, which was more or less on the way home. Shortly after getting off at Sanda Station, I realized, for the first time ever, that I had left my bag on the train! At first, I had no idea where it was, but then I was slightly relieved when I remembered leaving it on the overhead rack on the train. In most countries, this would mean a lost bag plus the camera and other contents that were inside. But this is rarely the case in Japan. I told the JR Sanda Station staff, and within four or five stops of where I got off, the staff from another station figured out where it was an got it off the train. I was so thankful!

The outlet mall was fun and a great way to finish an amazing day. It was a little tiring and expensive getting out to the country by train and bus, but we're planning to get a car in the near future, making trips like this one easier and cheaper.