Day 50: Festivities in Toyohashi
Yesterday I left Gamagori and continued on my route to Toyohashi, arriving late in the afternoon.
I had booked a room a few days in advance, and paid a frustrating premium for it. The room wasn't fancy, it was just a standard business hotel, but it seemed to be one of the few options even remotely close to my price range.
Dropping my pack in my room, I returned to the street in search of food only to find the once unremarkable street in from of my hotel now bustling with men in LED vests directing traffic and blocking off roadways.
It was a dramatic scene, and I didn't know what to make of it. At the corner a police car with lights flashing, and an automated message blaring over the loudspeaker but meaning nothing to me.
Not knowing what to make of things, or having any particular direction in mind, I followed the flow of pedestrians, which had now appeared in droves.
The flow lead not far, down the block to a left, then a quick right through a market street. Slowly things began to come into focus on my mind and the sound of the approaching cross street washed over me. The painted faces in the crowd, the various colourful outfits peppered among my fellow pedestrians.
It was a street festival!
The smell of so many delicious foods hit me, as the traditional festival food booths were dotting the street, outlining the route of what looked to be a parade.
The rhythm of the music blaring from hefty PA systems underpinned the event. What looked at first to be a parade was instead a long rotating oval of colourfully dressed dancing groups moving up the street before turning upon themselves.
Each group had a choreographed dance routine they performed to each song. Were they doing it for prizes? For bragging rights? For fun? For worship? I will never know.
When I was first staying in Osaka Takanori had told me to expect many festivals as I travelled across Japan, as autumn is a time when many different celebrations take place. The meaning of this festival was lost on me, but I enjoyed the unexpected colour and liveliness.
Having ate my fill of street food snacks, and seen all the dances, I returned to my room to set the appropriate time for my alarm, well before checkout and get some sleep.
My right foot was still suffering from the damage done by my long walk in the rain from the day previous. I treated it as best I could with my first aid kit, took some pain killers and hit the hay.
As I rose to checkout this morning, I didn't have a solid plan, aside from knowing I would check in to my next place in Hamamatsu this evening, but not until 5pm.
I felt it was best to avoid walking too much on my sore and blistered foot, which was showing early signs of fighting an infection, so I decided to take a short walk to see Yoshida castle before taking the train to Hamamatsu.
I was lucky enough to encounter a shrine along the way, and stopped for a short prayer and to collect another Goshuin before carrying on.
As I progressed towards Yoshida castle I once again stumbled into new festivities. This time a true parade was taking place, and I had found it just in time to witness a hundreds of Pikachus of all ages dancing down the street.
I stood and watched at a crosswalk as the seemingly endless line of pokemon parade goers danced their way down the street until finally the officer signalled an opening to cross, allowing my progress to continue.
Arriving at the castle grounds I found that it too was not immune to the festivities, and the wide spread nature of this festival made me truly understand why my room was so hard to find, and so pricey.
The festival had drawn out tens of thousands of revelers, and the park surrounding the castle had its own unique twist; it was bristling with all manner of school children's arts and crafts. Thousands upon thousands of pieces in nearly every medium available to a student.
Eventually, after wandering through a maze of displays I made it to the castle, perched on a hill overlooking the Toyokawa river.
From here it was a backtrack to the train station to head to Hamamatsu. But as I rode the train towards my destination for the day noticed that it was still very early, and I would arrive long before the 5pm check-in began.
Impulsively I disembarked half way along the train trip, deciding to explore. Perhaps I would find a shrine or temple, or simply wander in the direction of Hamamatsu.
Sadly none of the shines along my route were open, likely due to the festivities themselves. But I felt compelled to continue on, despite my sore foot.
When first I began this trip in Osaka, walking was the chore I was doing to enable my exploration and introspection. But now I have come to crave it. My legs enjoy it, even if my feet do not always co-operate.
I would end up walking the southern edge of Lake Hamana the immediately connects to the Pacific on the southern tip.
By the time I returned to the train, made it to Hamamatsu, and found my lodging for the evening, I had walked another 20km today. So much for resting my foot and letting it heal.
As I approached my new hotel, Global Cabins, my ear was snagged by some incredible Japanese metal coming from just around the corner. I was lucky enough to catch the last few minutes of a band rocking out for a hundred or so fans on the street.
After soaking that in I headed to my new lodgings, tired, smelly and ready for a restful night.
Speaking of lodgings, I have been completely and delightfully shocked by my new digs. But that is a story for another day. For now I am off to the sauna.
I had booked a room a few days in advance, and paid a frustrating premium for it. The room wasn't fancy, it was just a standard business hotel, but it seemed to be one of the few options even remotely close to my price range.
One bed for me, and one for my pack.
Dropping my pack in my room, I returned to the street in search of food only to find the once unremarkable street in from of my hotel now bustling with men in LED vests directing traffic and blocking off roadways.
It was a dramatic scene, and I didn't know what to make of it. At the corner a police car with lights flashing, and an automated message blaring over the loudspeaker but meaning nothing to me.
Not knowing what to make of things, or having any particular direction in mind, I followed the flow of pedestrians, which had now appeared in droves.
The flow lead not far, down the block to a left, then a quick right through a market street. Slowly things began to come into focus on my mind and the sound of the approaching cross street washed over me. The painted faces in the crowd, the various colourful outfits peppered among my fellow pedestrians.
It was a street festival!
The smell of so many delicious foods hit me, as the traditional festival food booths were dotting the street, outlining the route of what looked to be a parade.
The rhythm of the music blaring from hefty PA systems underpinned the event. What looked at first to be a parade was instead a long rotating oval of colourfully dressed dancing groups moving up the street before turning upon themselves.
Each group had a choreographed dance routine they performed to each song. Were they doing it for prizes? For bragging rights? For fun? For worship? I will never know.
When I was first staying in Osaka Takanori had told me to expect many festivals as I travelled across Japan, as autumn is a time when many different celebrations take place. The meaning of this festival was lost on me, but I enjoyed the unexpected colour and liveliness.
Having ate my fill of street food snacks, and seen all the dances, I returned to my room to set the appropriate time for my alarm, well before checkout and get some sleep.
My right foot was still suffering from the damage done by my long walk in the rain from the day previous. I treated it as best I could with my first aid kit, took some pain killers and hit the hay.
As I rose to checkout this morning, I didn't have a solid plan, aside from knowing I would check in to my next place in Hamamatsu this evening, but not until 5pm.
I felt it was best to avoid walking too much on my sore and blistered foot, which was showing early signs of fighting an infection, so I decided to take a short walk to see Yoshida castle before taking the train to Hamamatsu.
I was lucky enough to encounter a shrine along the way, and stopped for a short prayer and to collect another Goshuin before carrying on.
As I progressed towards Yoshida castle I once again stumbled into new festivities. This time a true parade was taking place, and I had found it just in time to witness a hundreds of Pikachus of all ages dancing down the street.
And a few Team Rocket members taking up the rear!
I stood and watched at a crosswalk as the seemingly endless line of pokemon parade goers danced their way down the street until finally the officer signalled an opening to cross, allowing my progress to continue.
Arriving at the castle grounds I found that it too was not immune to the festivities, and the wide spread nature of this festival made me truly understand why my room was so hard to find, and so pricey.
The festival had drawn out tens of thousands of revelers, and the park surrounding the castle had its own unique twist; it was bristling with all manner of school children's arts and crafts. Thousands upon thousands of pieces in nearly every medium available to a student.
From here it was a backtrack to the train station to head to Hamamatsu. But as I rode the train towards my destination for the day noticed that it was still very early, and I would arrive long before the 5pm check-in began.
Impulsively I disembarked half way along the train trip, deciding to explore. Perhaps I would find a shrine or temple, or simply wander in the direction of Hamamatsu.
Sadly none of the shines along my route were open, likely due to the festivities themselves. But I felt compelled to continue on, despite my sore foot.
When first I began this trip in Osaka, walking was the chore I was doing to enable my exploration and introspection. But now I have come to crave it. My legs enjoy it, even if my feet do not always co-operate.
I would end up walking the southern edge of Lake Hamana the immediately connects to the Pacific on the southern tip.
By the time I returned to the train, made it to Hamamatsu, and found my lodging for the evening, I had walked another 20km today. So much for resting my foot and letting it heal.
As I approached my new hotel, Global Cabins, my ear was snagged by some incredible Japanese metal coming from just around the corner. I was lucky enough to catch the last few minutes of a band rocking out for a hundred or so fans on the street.
After soaking that in I headed to my new lodgings, tired, smelly and ready for a restful night.
Speaking of lodgings, I have been completely and delightfully shocked by my new digs. But that is a story for another day. For now I am off to the sauna.
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