Last Weekend in Nagoya!

This was my last weekend in Nagoya, so I had to enjoy Japan life as much as possible.

Besides the wacky Japan costume party,

I also went to a traditional festival with "sword" dancing.

Check out these silly hats and fancy "fan" dances.

The street was lined with food booths and games for kids to play.

Kerri and her friend, Yuko. 

She is from volleyball club and took me on my first onsen (hot spring bathing) experience!

Little kid parade

Baton performances were really popular.  Not so in-sync, though, as you can see from the pic!

The kindergarten baton girls were so cute!!

Check out this video of the baton kids!!

I love the goofy English song in the background that their routine is choreographed to!

(You must go directly to the website to watch it.)

Here's one school band I could be part of...

How do you get the job where you hold the "Year of the Tiger" banner and sway back and forth?!

Yuko enjoys Japanese dessert.  It looks like a chocolate chip muffin,

but it's really made with black sugar and azuki (sweet red beans).  I passed on this treat.

Check out this video of a bunch of kids doing a Hip-Hop dance. 

One earlier routine was choreographed to an uncensored American rap song, and I'm pretty sure so one knew there was a bunch of swearing going on...  except for me, of course!

(You must go directly to the website to watch it.)

On Sunday I had last day hanging out with Tarynn in Nagoya. 

First stop was a final shopping trip to the giant 100 Yen store (like the dollar store), and then on to an art exhibit that I had free tickets for.

This "art" car is adorable, but I'd like it better if it had black spots and looked like a ladybug!!

Sweet giant pumpkin just in time for Fall!

Crazy flower with an "eye" on you!!

Tarynn & Kerri throw out a peace sign for one last Japan photo!!

I have no idea why the Nagoya TV Tower is lit up green, but it looks pretty spooky!

They should have done this for St. Patrick's Day!

For dinner we wanted to try something new, so we ended up at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, which has been recommended as "the best American food in Nagoya" by an acquaintance of ours. 

After a delicious dinner of nachos, burger, and salmon,

we decided to ride the giant ferris wheel attached to the Sunshine Sakae Building!! 

It was raining, but don't worry the capsules are completely enclosed!

KG takes in the sights!

View of a rainy Sunday evening in Nagoya.

What a fun weekend! 

Pretty relaxing, but still full of plenty of new experiences to help me remember Nagoya.

Now for a busy last week of work and more farewell parties!!

Meitetsu Girl

Year in review of Meitetsu Girl, the giant mannequin outside of the Meitetsu Department Store. 

Her official name is "Nan-chan Doll" and is a popular meeting spot for locals (and KG, too). 

I walk by her every day on the way to and from work, so I got to see every outfit change (unless I was on a business trip, I suppose)!

Christmas bulbs for the holiday season

 

The only repeat outfit I saw all year:

worn on Jan 1st and July 1st to advertise the two "sale" periods in Japan!

Nurse Appreciation Week?!

Not sure what this one is advertising...

Sailor girl

Cinco de Mayo?!  LOL... I really have no clue!

Chunichi Dragons uniform: Baseball season begins :)

Summer sundress and the Asahi rooftop beer garden.

Beach time!

One day I caught them in the middle of changing her!

Summer trend in Japan!

Yukata = Summer kimono

Back of yukata

Another trendy outfit

I really wish I could read these sashes she wears, so I know what she's advertising!

Summer wedding season?!

Check out her giant bling-bling ring!

A little puzzled by this one, too, but wearing the traditional Japanese jackets and using a handheld fan...

This one is for a new blend of Georgia canned coffee. 

It even plays an audio commentary if you press a button on the wall!

Japanese warrior in celebration of Nagoya's 400th Anniversary!

Latest and greatest outfit this week. 

I'm guessing it has to do with "Cosplay", which is short for "costume play" and often based on Japanese animated characters.  Maybe there is some kind of Cosplay event going on in or around Nagoya?!

Mika visits Nagoya

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!