Miki Aki Matsuri

Miki’s Aki Matsuri, or fall festival, took place on Oct 8 and Oct 9. Festivities included a street filled with stands selling festival food, which not unlike a state fair back home, consisted of mostly fried items and desserts. Although the fried items are much less outlandish than what has become the norm in Oklahoma and Texas.

The main event at most fall festivals across Japan is carrying mikoshi, or portable shrines, through the city. In Miki, a number of different neighborhoods all carried their own mikoshi to the main shrine in the city. The shrines literally weigh thousands of pounds. Carrying them is a chore for the dozens of men that join in, and this is doubly so in Miki where a gigantic staircase stands between the road and the main shrine. This year represented the 900-year anniversary since the original main shrine was built. Coming from the United States, it’s hard to imagine a historical site that continues to be used for the same purpose 900 years after its inception!

Sports Day

Mix one part Super Bowl halftime show with two parts Olympics and add a dash of military regalia and you've got the perfect recipe for Japanese Sports Day. It is an epic day of sprinting, relays, tug o' war, kindergarten marching band, dancing, cheering, martial arts, three-legged races, and all things sports.


Each year in the fall, Sports Day happens at schools all across Japan. I could tell you more, but I'd rather let the pictures speak for themselves.

Just before my big race at Miki Kita, the 4X100 meter relay!

Swim Club boys passing the baton in the club relay at Miki Kita.

The first few pictures above are from Miki Kita (Kita) which is my "visit school" I go to twice a week.  It just so happened that Kita's Sports Day was on the day that I visit.  My "base school" is Miki Senior High (Miki), and their Sports Day was the very next day.  I ran 100 meters each day as part of the teacher's relay team and couldn't walk on Friday.  I told one of the teachers at Miki that I was getting old.  His reply, "If you are old, then I am dead."  I lol'd a little.  I have no idea how old he is, but he looks young to me.  Japanese people age well so he could be something like 70 for all I know.

The girls play a game similar to chicken fighting where you steal that hat of your opponent.  It gets craaaazzzy!

This has got to be my favorite shot of the day.  The kindergarden marching band was cute overload!

One of the students wanted a picture.  She is so cute!  How could I say no?

The students did a cheer competition that they choreographed themselves.   I was pretty partial to the blue team...  must have been the cowboy hats and the bandanas!

B...  L.... U....

There was no match for the yellow team in tug o' war.  This student was cracking me up throwing up peace signs for the camera while his teammates pulled them to victory.

Sports Day was a great day, and I am so happy I had a chance to be a part of it!

Kimono Fashion Show

Becky was offered the chance to take part in a “kimono fashion show” as part of an event at a local community center. She was a member of a mock bridal party who got on stage in under kimonos. Then a kimono teacher and her students demonstrated the laborious process of applying layer after layer of fabric until they were ready for a Japanese wedding.

Most of the models were members of the Miki International Association, or MIA. The bride and groom were actually celebrating their anniversary. They are from Argentina, and they moved to Miki two years ago. The groom was born in Argentina, but his parents were Japanese. Like many Japanese born abroad, he learned a substantial amount of spoken Japanese from his family but very little kanji, the complex Chinese characters used in writing. He and I are actually learning kanji together in the MIA’s free Japanese classes. 

Becky was clearly the prettiest girl on stage! Although they knew she was married, they had her wear a long-sleeved kimono, which is normally only worn by single women. I took a video of most of the elaborate dressing. It wasn’t exactly a race, but the kimono students were trying to get their models dressed as quickly and precisely as possible. I recorded for about six minutes until my arm got too tired to hold up the camera any more! It went on for a couple more minutes afterward. The video is embedded below. Keep in mind that there is no pay off at the end. It’s just wrapping and wrapping and wrapping! I also shot the video in portrait mode, so pardon the black bars on the left and right. Enjoy!