When in Rome, do as the Japanese do

Or was that supposed to be something else...? Anyway, I have been terribly remiss in my blogging, so now I am playing catch-up. A couple weeks ago (June 13-14th) I took the long train/bus ride to Itako to see my favorite gal, Lauren. Her little hamlet of Itako hosts one of the largest and longest festivals in all of Japan. It is called the Ayame Matsuri (Iris Festival) and it lasts for six weeks each year. For this festival, they ask many of the young women of the community to be the hostesses or "daughters" of the festival. This means they have to wear traditional yukata every weekend and welcome the thousands upon thousands of guests to view the beautiful irises and take part in the many other events sponsored by the festival. For Lauren, this is a huge undertaking and time commitment. For her friends (i.e. me) it is a really great opportunity to see a huge, traditional festival and lounge around for a weekend. :-D

When I came to Japan many years ago for a short homestay, my host family gave me my own yukata as a gift. Since then, I have held onto this beautiful garb for such occasions as an Ayame Matsuri. The morning of the festival, Lauren and I each were dressed in yukata by a fantastic older woman named Osaki-san. She is one key volunteers of the festival and helps Lauren to get properly dressed every weekend. And this particular weekend, she was kind enough to help me as well. Lauren's yukata is identical to that of the other "daughters" of the festival. They are a day navy blue with pretty irises printed on the fabric. They have gold obis (thick belt tied into a bow) and matching geta (traditional wooden sandals). My yukata is red (naturally...haha) with white rabbits and fireworks. It is an unusual pattern, but I really love the white rabbits.

Because I was a foreigner and such good friends with Lauren, the festival organizers and the other "daughters" were extremely welcoming to me and even allowed me to be an Ayame Musume for the day with everyone else. I helped to welcome the guests to the festival and handed out maps of the festival grounds. As an unwritten part of my non-existent contract, I also had to pose for about seven hundred pictures. Honestly, it made me feel like a celebrity and I don't mind the fact that there are a ton of pictures of me floating around Japan; that can be my little mark on the world. Later that day, there was a parade for the festival and I was even asked to dance with the other daughters in the parade. The dance was really easy, and I had a blast. I went around the loop with the dancers 1.5 times, but I think in total, they did 4 rotations.

After all the dancing and festivities, Lauren, invited all the JETs back to her place for a party. She is quite the hostess and the food was delicious and the presentation immaculate. I always enjoy a good party, and this definitely was one. I am going to miss all my JET friends and the atmosphere of living in Japan. I almost feel like I am graduating and moving on from college again - so this is a good thing.

The next morning all of us who spent the night at Lauren's place woke up and ventured out for a breakfast of chocolate croissants and omelets with rice. I headed home that afternoon to an evening of karaoke and then sleep. Sleep is something rather evasive lately, but I rather have it that way than sleep through my last 6 weeks in Japan!