Summer Sonic 2018

Despite never having been to a festival in my life, I decided to jump right into the deep end this summer, and went to Summer Sonic in Osaka. 

It's similar to festivals back home, and like Leeds and Reading in the sense its line up alternates locations over the two days. However, since they take place in stadiums and outdoor sporting areas both in Tokyo and Osaka, people don't camp overnight.

Haruka and I decided to only go for one day, and we wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for our favourite band, One Ok Rock, announcing their performance. It's been almost 3 years since we saw them together in Manchester, and although I saw them in March too, it was a totally different experience seeing them at a festival in Japan compared to an arena. During their tour, fans were completely reserved with coordinated fist pumping and quietly listened to their singing. This was anything but that. I was bruised and filthy afterwards, but it was definitely the best atmosphere I've ever experienced at a concert.

 

There were five different stages, and luckily all of the artists we wanted to watch were at different times. Such a variety of artists attended so there really was something for everyone; we saw Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, One Ok Rock, Paramore, Jess Glynne and overheard many others. 

There was also a magical little oasis area in amongst all of the stages, filled with a variety of food stalls and spaces to just chill out. Easily the best place to people watch and eat lemon ramen at sunset, surrounded by palm trees and booming music.

Frankly I dont think I could have handled another day in the blazing heat, but all things considered I did well. My white ass remained wonderfully snow white and sunburn free (thanks to a custom made kaftan courtesy of Simona for that exact purpose) and I didnt get heat stroke, something which I was super stressed about since I got it last year. Needless to say I had no shame and spent the best part of the afternoon wearing the cooling gel strips you put on kids who have a fever. 

 

I do have some standards though. When we were stuck in the midst of a mosh pit, Taka being less than a metre away and my hat flying off, my first instinct was to rip it off my forehead and fling it into the crowd. God knows where it ended up, but I'll be damned if I ever let Taka see me as the girl with a blue sticky strip on her forehead.  

Take a peek at our sweaty as hell after mosh pit picture, it sums the day up pretty well.

Summer, the time to refresh.

Summer is now over and classes are in full swing, so now I have time to reflect on my long vacation. As it is every year, summer in Kumamoto was positively soul destroying, but I think I am slowly (major emphasis on how slowly) getting used to living somewhere that makes me a sticky, nauseous mess for three months of the year. 

It’s been an unintentionally crafty summer break, starting with a visit to Mifune to make some pottery. Hidden down some of the quietest roads is the tiniest pottery studio, very rustic and family run.  Simona, Ruth and Sheridan decided to make bowls, Olivia a mug and I decided to make a vase. A risky choice that wouldn’t have gone as well without the guy coming to “fix” any issues, but I’m hoping it turns out all right. All I can hope for is that mine isn’t the one that explodes in the kiln and shatters everyone else’s. I nicknamed my vase Aso-kun for its resemblance to Mt. Aso, but I don’t need it to really embody its namesake. 

More recently I attended a glass art workshop, where I made a nice little holder decorated in coloured film. It looks exactly like stained glass, and it was the most therapeutic thing I’ve done in a while. I’ll be attending another next week where we can advance to slightly more intricate designs now that we have the basics down, and I’m hoping to make a Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired rose design.

Despite still working every day, I’ve enjoyed rekindling friendships in summer that somewhat lost their way in the madness of the semester. Numerous nights were spent enjoying each other’s company, whether it be at BBQ’s, riverside picnics or even trips to the onsen. 

I’ve had a few dips in rivers and the sea throughout my gallivanting, even checking a new prefecture, Yamaguchi, off the list. Ironically, most Japanese visitors come to Tsunoshima to see the famous bridge and seldom spend time exploring the island. It was a fleeting road trip there and back in one day, but eating shaved ice on the beach and swimming in the bright blue water made me appreciate living in a country that is so diversely beautiful, no matter the season.

A huge amount of new faces came to Kumamoto this summer, something new for us all. The scariest thing is how much of a senpai I am now to the newbies, and that anything I tell them is taken so seriously with wide eyes and thanks. It’s made me realise how I’ve grown so much in the past two years here. It’s not been without struggles, mainly coming to terms with myself that I can’t change some aspects of Japanese culture as much as I’d like, but I know I wouldn’t change this experience for the world. The conflicts will only help me grow as a person.

Fleeting visit to Tokyo.

Ironically one of my top bucket list locations in Japan, was somewhere I`ve been so close to before but never managed to visit. Kamakura is on the southern edge of Kanagawa prefecture and only a short couple of train rides from Haruka`s house. I visited a little while ago now, on what was definitely the hottest weekend we`d had in a while, and seemingly the start of summer.

We started by wandering the small but bustling street of Komachi-dori which leads straight from the station. We managed to escape from the glaring lunchtime sun into a relatively unoccupied mom and pop soba shop, which to anyone in the know is the perfect summer dish. Afterwards we headed to a super fancy kakigori (shaved ice) shop that even had a limited edition version that looked exactly like hydrangeas, a symbol of the Japanese rainy season. True to form I spilt about half of mine on the table, but what’s new there.

We headed to the Great Buddha in the late afternoon, spoke to a really lovely old man, and relaxed in the shade of the forest for a little while. This is probably one of the most iconic Buddha’s in Japan, but despite that it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I expected, and you only had to walk two minutes away to find some serenity. 

We came across a tiny little senbei (rice cracker) shop and treated ourselves to a huge cracker to share. That I never took a picture of, we were too occupied with eating it. I did buy the most adorable Buddha shaped crackers for Kohei’s family though, and I’d definitely recommend stopping there if you’re in the area. They have an abundance of decorated senbei for birthdays, graduations or even just to commemorate your trip to Kamakura. Imagine those large cookies you can have decorated with icing, but rather it’s a savoury cracker.

 

During my weekend away we also visited some locations in and around the Shibuya/Harajuku area. I finally visited a hedgehog café after wanting to visit one since I first came to Japan. Our hedgehog, Kiki, was super sassy and not having any of it, but we at least got a few cute pictures of him in knitted berets. We just let him chill out and enjoyed our time with them all, despite melting to death because they like a hot living environment. 

We also visited our favourite tea shop (this time in Aoyama) for our fix of fancy flavoured tapioca, and took a trip to Good Town for some doughnuts. Photo credit goes to Haruka for that one. It's the hippest cafe I've been to in a while, with lots of old school American vibes. Strawberry lemonade and lemon poppy seed were to die for, but next time, it’s all about the maple bacon.

Matsuri upon matsuri

Japanese summers are filled with festivals, or matsuri, which were abundant in Kumamoto this year like always. In preparation, I went shopping for my first yukata with Billy, a wonderful German girl living here who has an amazing eye for style and frequently wears yukata or kimono.

She took both Kohei and I to a little store she frequently volunteers at in the middle of nowhere, and what a gold mine. I’m super lucky in the sense I’m not particularly tall, the only struggle is that sometimes my ass ruins the flow of the yukata and screws up the pattern. Billy was such an asset; she helped me find not only two yukatas, with obi and all of the other accessories, but I found the most beautiful furisode (kimono with long sleeves) that I’ll be able to wear once it gets cooler.

All of this came to ¥13,000 which is an absolute steal, as some yukata alone cost that much. Kohei got even more of a bargain, his yukata was only ¥500. I’m going to start taking lessons with Billy, in the hope one day I’ll be able to dress myself and even continue wearing them once I go home.

The first chance I got to wear my own yukata was at Sheridan’s junior high schools summer festival. It was super cute, with lots of food stalls, so many kids dressed in their own yukatas, and some dancing that Sheridan and I of course joined in on. My favourite part was the banana auction, which I got overly excited about and won a bunch of about 12 for the most ridiculous price. I practically turned into one by the end of the week I ate that many.


I don’t know what gave Sheridan’s school such high status, but special guest of the evening was beloved Kumamon. I’m not sure who was more excited, the children, or Sheridan who was practically hyperventilating next to me.

Sadly, I couldn’t go to my own school’s summer festival because something else even more exciting was thrown my way. Last year, on the day I moved into my apartment, was the Hinokuni Matsuri. It’s probably the biggest festival in the year for Kumamoto, and I remembered getting drunk off Strong Zeros while watching hundreds of people dance in a parade and dancing along with them. 

This year, I got the chance to perform the otemoyan dance myself, along with Sheridan, Kohei, Olivia, Mitra and Bilal. It was so much fun, and not even the impending typhoon headed our way was going to stop us dancing for two hours. Best part of the night? Kumamon danced with us during the parade.