nothing to prove

drunken octopus flying

One of the only things that my city, Sanjo, is known for kites. Once a year these massive kites, around 8 feet tall, battle by the river. Each kite represents a team and, from what I could gather, teams get points by cutting other teams ropes or causing another kite to fall. Either way there is lots of screaming and running around. Luckily it was a gorgeous day with plenty of wind to keep things interesting.


I went to the festival with my friend Makiko and who, despite being Japanese and living in Sanjo her whole life, had about as much of a clue as I did. That afternoon I decided to buy a smaller version of the same kites but you can see how well that went. Apparently this area is known for its hexagonal shaped kites and I don't know if anywhere else in the world has them. The name for kite is tako which also means octopus in Japanese but I have no idea why they call it that and neither did any of the Japanese people I asked. In any case, it was a relaxing and fun afternoon before the night out in Maki.



After the kite festival I caught a ride to Maki where a group of us were heading a local brewery, called Ichigo Beer. We all met at Maki station where a bus was waiting to take us to the brewery. It was a quaint place that ended up having a night light beer and good cuisine. Immediately we felt like home when the beer came out in pitchers and we wasted no time in beginning to drink. The beer kept flowing and the food kept coming. We ate everything from cheese and crackers to mountain vegetables to meatballs. Once our ninety minutes were up, everyone headed to karaoke where we sang and were happy until the night came to a close. I even got to sleep in my own bed thanks to a sober cab. Another low key weekend was just what I needed before the ensuing chaos of my time in Japan.

posted by Aaron @ 11:05 PM