This weekend I had one last visitor to Nagoya. It was my friend from my CMU, Mika. You may recall that she is usually my tour guide in the Tokyo area, so I'm glad I could repay the favor and give Mika her first experience of Nagoya!
First stop was a Nagoya-speciality restaurant, Yabaton. I see this 6-foot pig all over the city, but this is the original restaurant, so he takes up the whole building this time!
Yabaton, not surprisingly, is known for pork cutlets.
It's one of my favorite meals: fried miso katsu, slathered in miso sauce served on a bed of cabbage.
Next stop was the Nagoya Castle!
They had some interesting flower displays at the Castle...
Even a mini-castle with a traditional golden dolphin on one side of the roof and a fried tempura shrimp perched on the other corner!
At night we went to a traditional bon dance.
The dancers move in very slow, methodical movements and wear special hats that cover their faces.
I'm told that the shape of the hat is beautiful, which is why they wear them!
Quite an experience!
Music was live--sung and played by a kimono-clad crew on stage.
Check out this video of the singing and dancing.
(You must go directly to the blog to access it.)
The next day we went to pray at the Atsuta Jingu Shrine, and they were having an event for children ages 3, 5, and 7.
The odd ages are consider special years, so the children were all dressed in their best kimono and many pictures were being taken!!
(I figured no one would notice a few extra from me!)
These 3 are being blessed by the woman in the back shaking what looks like a clump of Christmas bells.
I'm guessing the boy on the right is 3, which is why he's wearing kimono, and his brother in the middle is 6. Since 6 isn't a "special" year, he only gets to wear his suit (with shorts!). The woman on the left is their mother.
We had another Nagoya speciality for lunch: hitsumabushi, which is eel served over rice.
Then we went to Nagoya Port, which happened to be having a Okinawa festival complete with a traditional drum and dance performance!!
Check out this video of the Okinawa performancers.
(You must go directly to the blog to access it.)
Mako, Mika, & Kerri at Nagoya Port.
It was a great weekend--full of nice weather, Nagoya fun, and even some new sights!
I'm am glad I was able to fit in a few more Japanese cultural events since there is only 2 more weeks left before my departure!
Cool! Thanks for being the tourguide.
ReplyDeleteMy first time in Nagoya was a blast!
Such a quiet city with futuristic buildings and great food.
If I had known you had a stash of American
snacks at your apt. I would've visited more often :P
Enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan!