Taiko Drum Festival

Another of the many festivals during the spring time here in Japan is the Narita-san Taiko Drum Festival.


As with any Japanese Festival, it was, of course, crowded!




As we walked through the city streets, there were numerous Taiko groups performing - groups of all ages. Here are a group of adolescent kids.




Notice the youg adult girl in the middle here - all that drumming really builds up their muscles - look at the old dude playing the flute behind her!
















This drum was pretty cool - check out that mask!




Although this wasn't a traditional Taiko Drum, it was still my favorite - this Hokie can't resist anything that's Orange & Maroon!













The Grand Finale came at nite, at the main temple. The giant Taiko Drum in the middle was SO LOUD - when they hit it, you could feel the reverberation throughout the city - it was awesome! The number '1070' above the doors behind the drummers denotes the year the temple was originally built.




And finally, here's a video to give you an actual sense of how cool this festival really was!

Just Because

Last night my husband surprised me with some 'just because' flowers! I love getting flowers for any reason, but especially when they're the 'Just because I love you' kind. I felt a little guilty for getting them though because normally he would be coming home to me making last minute touches to a made-from-scratch, low sodium dinner. But I was just exhausted yesterday afternoon so instead of making dinner, I decided to take a quick nap, which turned into a long nap. He came home to me sleeping soundly in bed. And then I made him heat up leftovers for his dinner while I made myself some mac'n'cheese from a box. Martha Stewart I was not yesterday.

***Warning*** Rated NC-17

With the Cherry Blossoms now past their full bloom status, and quickly falling off in light of the impending summer months, Cicely and I took in one of the last few festivals of the Spring - the Kawasaki Fertility Festival.












The festivities began with a ceremonial dance in front of the shrine...










...just what exactly were we celebrating? Well, the wives soon found out!



Many of you have probably seen gnomes in yards back home....well, that's pretty cliche nowadays - I think I'll take one of these home and start a new trend!







I don't know this girl, but considering how many people took her picture at the same instant I did, the entire world may know her via blogs on the internet soon enough - her parents will be proud!



Here is Cicely with my XO and his wife, enjoying typical festival food. I do have other [more incriminating] pictures of XO, of course I won't be publishing them until I see a need for extortion!








As you can see here, the crowds were insane - it's amazing how many people will come out to see male genitalia!