Yosakoi

Back in August the duck and I went to the Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri Super Yosakoi Festival that our friend had invited us to join her watch. On a stage at Yoyogi park (that the duck and I had actually witnessed being set up on our little walk two days earlier) we watched several (out of over a hundred) Yosakoi teams perform. We had never experienced anything like it before. Watching those talented dancers (learning that they had danced all day, even in the crazy afternoon sun!) was super exciting – we were impressed! I was glad that I had remembered to bring my camera. Because I loved the costumes, the dances and the energy, I thought that I’d share some snaps with you. This shows frozen moments from the performance of 燦-SUN-:

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While we were waiting for one of the dancers to meet us, her parents told us a bit about the history of Yosakoi. The dance was first performed in Kochi City (on the fairly southern Shikoku island) in the 1950s but gained widespread popularity in the 1990s at a festival in Sapporo City (up north in Hokkaido). And, did I mention that it’s just awesome to watch? How had we not been aware of this?!
The duck and I were even asked if we’d like to join her team by our newfound friend – but considering our general fitness level and overall lack of gracefulness we politely declined, even though it looks like so much fun!
The evening ended with great chats, exciting plans, new friends and a variety of tofu – an overall success (at not lazing around all day)!

Walking from Shibuya to Shinjuku

Why are we always so slow to post updates, you ask? Well, let me tell you a little story instead: The other day the duck and I had an appointment in Shibuya. After getting lost for nearly half an hour despite using a map, we had to record our first severe instance of being late in Japan. That was a bit of a shock! After the meeting, we decided to walk it off on a little stroll from Shibuya to Shinjuku – to get some exercise (okay, we wanted to save money. That’s the main reason. But we did walk quite a bit, so there was an exercise aspect to it, too). I had taken my camera with me so I could document this strenuous walking tour through the blazing afternoon sun because if we do something as stupid as that, you can bet your bottom yen that we’ll let everyone know about it! This is the little video that came out of this exhausting hike through the wilderness (of Tokyo).
For my previous attempt at making a video, I got feedback that it was pretty “lame,” so for this one, I tried something a little bit different. Now, please sit back and take part in our walk from Shibuya to Shinjuku (see what I did there?):

We hope you enjoyed the product of our two-week editing adventure. I will work on my arm strength for less shaky videos, so maybe there will be more. One day. If we have the time… and energy. But first, we gotta change the water in our footbaths.

Duck, be so kind as to fetch me some of those herbs from the shrubbery behind our house, will you? No? Ugh… brb.