On Friday, August 24th, SRF-JRMC held their 2018 Bon Festival. All week there was discussion about how Typhoon Cimaron might disrupt the festivities. At one point, it looked like the Typhoon might be a direct hit over the Tokyo area and cause the festival to be canceled. The good news, the storm weakened and made landfall further south of Tokyo. Our area had wind and rain during the day on Friday. Fortunately, by the time the festival started, only the wind remained. The warm and muggy wind felt like hot breath as we enjoyed the festival. But, it was better than no wind at all! Dave and I dressed in traditional attire again this year. I wore a summer kimono known as a yukata. Dave wore a Gin-be.
My friend, Saori, helped me go shopping for my yukata. I really loves the colors; especially the yellow.
I invited my friends, Atsuko and Manami, to be my special VIP guests for the evening. They enjoyed the opportunity to experience a Japanese cultural tradition on the Navy base.
During the week, Dave and I attended dance lessons during lunch time. The traditional six dances are performed as a group in a circle. The steps and rhythm are repetitive. Theoretically, they should be easy to learn after a few sessions. I felt pretty good going into the evening to perform the dances. Then I learned the dancing was at 8pm. After I had a couple of chu-hai. We gave it a shot anyways. I obviously needed more lessons. In this picture Manami took of Dave and me, I’m clapping when I should be digging!
In the end, it was a wonderful night. This was our third and final Bon Dori Festival. It made me a little sad to think about missing the party next year. Maybe Dave and I can be creative and figure out ways to incorporate our favorite Japanese traditions and holidays into our life when we return to the US next year. Who doesn’t love a party!?! Perhaps without the dancing!