My Week: Birthday Times!

John's parents are coming to Japan tomorrow, and we're off to Tokyo with them for a week. I'm really looking forward to showing them Japan, exploring Tokyo more myself, having a well(ish) earned break from work and eating the British goodies they're under strict instructions to bring! 

I promise to post more about Sendai tanabata when I get back, but for the time being, here are a few non-tananbata photos from the last week.

I have no idea why he's dressed like an aubergine, but it made my day! 

Watermelon birthday treat

Birthday cake!! Thanks Shoko! 

Mother's meeting outside my apartment at 6:30am. I was NOT happy.

Presents *(^_^)*

An elephant selling t-shirts to raise money for the tsunami affected areas

Birthday lunch at Shoko's house. Yum yum! 

I hope everyone has a good Obon!

Sendai Tanabata, Part 1

Since I first knew we were coming to Sendai, I viewed tanabata as my festival. There are two good reasons why. Firstly, I love crafts and the decorations are all handmade. I knew I would love walking round them, seeing all the different ways they were decorated. But secondly, and most importantly, Sendai's tanabata festival coincides with my birthday. Whilst the main day is today (the 7th), the festival and decorations hang around until my birthday on the 8th (incidentally, I would be the luckiest person ever in China, where 8 is a lucky number, since I was born on 8/8/88). John's birthday is on Christmas Day, so the whole world gets decorated for his birthday every year, and it was nice for me to get the decorations for a change! 

Unfortunately, that annoying thing called work is going to get in the way of me enjoying tanabata to its full extent tomorrow, so I made the most of it yesterday. John and I wandered around together for a while, before he had to disappear off (birthday present buying, yay!) and I made the most of the solitude to take coo over the pretty craft work. 

Each business, shop, community group or school that wants to contribute gets one row of 4 or 5 decorations. The variety of the decorations, the work put into it and the sheer amount of them is ridiculous.

The photos in this post are trying to give you a sense of the overall scale, although it's pretty impossible to do. Most of the decorations are along a few long covered arcades (for obvious rain+paper related reasons), and the shops, decorations themselves and people prevent you seeing the whole length. But I tried! In my next post, I'll show you some of my favourite close ups! 

In the station

Off we go, along Clis Road (the main arcade and decorations spot)

I love the paper crane ones the most. Such a crazy amount of work.

These ones are decorated like Kokeshi Dolls, a traditional Tohoku doll.

Well it is the star festival after all! 

Try as I might, I couldn't hide from the crowds inside a decoration.

Heading off down a side street (you can spy John with his Tokyo bag if you look carefully!)

I know this is technically advertising Yamaha, but GO TEAM GB!! 

Tanabata Fireworks

This week is Tanabata, the biggest festival in Sendai. Tanabata is a Japan-wide festival, but Sendai has the most famous one. The folk story behind it is from a Chinese story, and varies across Japan, but there's a cute kids version here. If it's raining on tanabata, the lovers can't meet and have to wait another year. It takes place on the 7th of July in most of Japan, but the 7th of August in Sendai. It was throwing it down with rain on the 7th July, so I'm sure Altair and Vega are anxiously watching the weather forecast for tomorrow! On Tanabata, you're supposed to write your wishes for the next year on a piece of paper, then hang it from a bamboo branch. Sendai also has lots of Sendai specific decorations. More about those tomorrow! 

On the 5th, there are fireworks to celebrate the start of the festival. Along with what felt like the whole population of Sendai, we headed down to watch them. Lots of people dress up in Yukata (casual, summer kimono), and who were we to refuse?! It was insanely hot, and as someone who's only used to fireworks in November, it felt rather odd to be watching them in the heat! It was a lot of fun though! 

Getting our Japanese friends to help us out! 

We had to go to our friend Shoko's house to get her mother to sort us out!

Hurrah, we got there!

Walking to the park through the tanabata decorations.

A small park with lots of trees is not where I'd choose to hold a major fireworks festival, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves!

It was really really hot, hence the shiny faces!

Smiley ladies!

Starting fireworks in the daylight. Another strange decision! 

Fireworks time!

Smiley face fireworks :)

Akiu

We've been fairly busy for the last few weeks, teaching summer school. We only had one day off in the middle, so we decided to make the most of it. We went on a lovely long bike ride, to Akiu. It's a hot springs town about 12km south west of our house. Due to the insane hot weather we've been having recently, we weren't tempted by the hot springs, but there was plenty of nature to keep us busy. Right near the town there is Rairaikyo gorge, and a further 10km along the road is Akiu Great Falls. Despite a 2 thunderstorms, and very aching legs, we managed to get round everything and had a lovely (if exhausting day!).

I hope you're not all fed up with photo of rice fields, trees and mountains because, once again, that's pretty much all that's here! It's not my fault, blame the Japanese countryside.

Trees around Rairaikyo gorge

The gorge

We were so hot after our bike ride that I was longing to jump right in that water, but there was sadly nowhere to get down to it. 

Pretty flowers

Out into the greenery

A camera theft by John led to a picture of a bridge disguised as an aqueduct

After a bike ride in the thunderstorm. As John put it, "I've genuinely had less wet showers"

We finally made it to Akiu Great Falls. They were gorgeous and worth the rain!

It always surprises me how calm a river becomes straight after a waterfall

Mist on the mountains, and greenery everywhere. Sums up our day! 

I wish my camera took panoramas, there was this view in every direction.

Nearly home

Collapsed at home, Olympics on the telly, and a gorgeous sunset outside. What a lovely day!

Yamadera

So our hike led us to Yamadera. The name in Japanese is 山寺, mountain temple, and so, unsurprisingly, it's a series of temples on a mountain. According to the sign at the bottom, it was founded in 860 by the Tendai Buddhist Sect. A seminary was set up alongside it, and when it reached it's peak in the Kamakura Era (1185-1382), more than 300 monks and 1500 devotees lived on and around the mountain. Since then, it's gone through ups and downs, and now there are 40 buildings over 115 hectares. The area you can walk over is much smaller than that, but there are some lovely corners to explore, and views to admire. 

That's all the interesting information the board had, so it's just photos from here! 

Happy Buddhas are the best!

Starting up the mountain

There were a lot of toys around this shrine, so I assume it's for children. My guess is the scary demons are to scare away evil spirits.

Strange rocks

View from the top

Lovely lovely mountains.

The shot that's on all the advertising for Yamadera! 

I'm glad I'm not the postman who has to collect from here, about 800 steps up!

Lots of money left in cracks in the rock