Ladee's Travels

I expected to see traditional clothing, especially with those involved in shows.  I was not ready for the costuming outside of traditional. I have not kept up with what has been happening with the Japanese arts and the youth. or just youth. I saw several people in animal costumes, hood and all (and it was in the high 70s so this wasn't to keep them warm).  I finally stopped a young girl in a costume and asked her why people were in different types of costumes.  I guess that I implied that she was in a costume.  (She is pictured below in the blue and pink dress, walking away). She told me that this was how she dressed on the weekends and that she wasn't wearing a costume, but that she had selected this particular little dress because the fabric had an Asian-type print.  She went on to tell me that some may be in costume. I asked her about the animal costumes.  "Oh, those are 'fuzzies' (or did she call them Furries) and they just dress like that beca...

I really don't know what to say about this except that it created quite a stir with the young people.  My guess from the "oh, look, these is mine" and "I don't have that one" that this is a collection of some sort.  I took the group photos and a few close-ups.  If you know what these are, please comment.

Why doesn't "make your own sushi" appeal to me?  I really have no desire although I really like sushi at a restaurant.  Now that I have seen this little "sushi kit", perhaps I will change my mind.  The man showed that this kit comes with two sizes of sushi forms  You take out the size that you want (there are probably rules to this) and get your seaweed sheet.  Where does one buy a seaweed sheet?  Do they come in packs of 12? Probably not, since US is the only place left on earth that does not deal with things in groups of 10.  I did get a little distracted by the black and gold bowl with the red inside glaze.  VERY NICE!  Everything lines up and you are good to go!  I am still not convinced that this is something that I want to do.  I seem to recall that my sister took a class in this.  It had to be her. Who else?  I was then distracted (again) by the sound of the taiko drums and went to find the stage. ...

A Japanese festival would not be complete without those amazing Bonsai trees.  These never fail to catch my eye.  I saw a lot of trimmed trees when I was in Japan (not all Bonsai) and my poor desert trees have been suffering every since!  I had to stop and see "The Candy Man" perform because I found out about these artists when I was researching for the Asia trip but did not get a chance to see one perform.  These are traditional  ame zaiku (candy sculptures) made with mizuame (boiled starch sugar) mixed with  shokubeni (food coloring).  He takes a ball of the hot candy in to his hands.  The ball is put on to a stick so that he can work with it and it can be held later.  He snips little pieces and pulls and tugs to make the ears, nose and other parts of the animal.  At the end of his performance, a candy animal. I did research on these artists, called shokunin (artisans).  They study for years to pe...

There were many booths, food and merchandise.  I took photos of a variety. These backpacks were really cute and the more that I look at them, the more that I want to return tomorrow to buy one for my travels.  Ok, this stage scene is not shopping or eating, but is a place to sit and watch an show WHILE eating lunch.  I like martial arts and this group of black belts put on a great demonstration.  The shaved ice booth was a hit.  You could buy items made of buckwheat... WHAT??  Japanese dolls, jewelry and decorations were abundant.  Then, to clean out last year's items, one booth simply called it a cash and carry Flea Market, complete with digging in boxes to find treasures.