Hello everyone. This is Nina from HASH196. It’s summer, and in Japan, that means festivals! So, I will report on the Kashiwa Festival, a festival held in Kashiwa in late July.

This year’s festival would feature dance performances by the cute and adorable elementary school students who live in HASH, and adults could even volunteer to carry the mikoshi (portable shrine)! Hearing all this, our festival lovers had been excited and nervous for over a month. A few days ago, the day of the festival finally arrived.

The Kashiwa Festival, which is held over two days on Saturday and Sunday and usually attracts 700,000 visitors every year, was already held in 2019 when I started living in HASH. However, I had never been to the festival itself because I was satisfied with the “Kashiwa Tenoichi” event held right before that, where the house members opened a booth together! I was shocked to find out that – even though I thought they were the same thing – the Kashiwa Festival and Tenoichi were, in fact, not part of the same festival.

And so, the members of the International Club, many of whom are staying in Japan for only a short period of time, were invited to go together this year, and we all decided to participate in the festival in the evening. As we approached the shopping street on the way to the station, there were food stalls everywhere, and the atmosphere was already joyful. At a venue with a large stage in front of the station, Kashiwa Nebuta was being held.

The excitement of the crowd was contagious, but we were hungry and decided to look for something tasty to eat first. However, there were so many people that we had a hard time even getting to the opposite side of the station. After a long detour, we finally arrived at an area with many food stalls. Some of the international members had never been to a Japanese festival before, so we were listing traditional festival treats on the way there: “Yakisoba!” “Candy apples!” “Jaga-bata!” Our foreign friends seemed eager to try out these foods, so we decided to look for some, but were shocked to find that there were long lines everywhere. “At this rate, we won’t be able to buy anything…!”

While we were wandering around the festival area, I came across a stall that I like, so I told the others, “The meat here is delicious.” They responded with, “I want to try it! I’ll get in line!” In the end, we all decided to get in line together. It was a great time to talk about each other’s countries, jobs, etc. while waiting. When it came time to eat, the response was very good. “Yum! I should have bought another one!” We were relieved to hear that the food was a big hit. Still, we were still hungry, so we looked for the next delicious dish to try.

It seems we spent quite a bit of time looking for food and waiting, and then we realized the festival would end in only 5 minutes! This was a big problem! So we jumped into the Bon Odori dancing circle and danced the “Kashiwa Odori” by imitating the other dancers. The dance was quite difficult, which surprised me, but it was a lot of fun!

By the time the festival was over, I was exhausted from the crowds and went home with the other tired house members, but those who still had energy went out for drinks and sang karaoke until late at night.

Thus arrived the second day of the festival! After noon, we headed out to support the adorable kids’ dance. It looked tough under the scorching sun, but some members were moved to tears by the hard work of the kids. (laughs) Some HASH alumni came to visit us, and it was a fun reunion. From there, we went to cheer on the guys who were eager to carry the mikoshi. Although they were not used to it, they did their best, and we were very much entertained by their high level of service spirit as they cheerfully waved at us.

From there, the remaining girls and kids went out to look for delicious food. As we entered the alley, we were surrounded a wonderful atmosphere! Our eyes instantly lit up when we saw all the restaurants and eateries in the alley offering mouth-watering food and beverages. The people at the restaurants were very friendly, and we enjoyed the exotic cuisine while mingling with them, and before we knew it, it was time for sweets. We all enjoyed the food stalls set up by our members’ favorite restaurants, and when we found something on the menu that we were drawn to, we all quickly pulled out our purses from our bags… and the evening came to a close before we knew it.

As we said goodbye to the kids, we got a message from another house member. “Where are you? Let’s meet up!” I wasn’t planning to stay until the evening, but I had missed out on some food, so I decided to join the others and go back into the crowd…! LOL!

From there, we also met up with the members who had carried the portable shrine and enjoyed the last night of the festival. However, just like the first day, there were long lines everywhere, and it was no longer fun to look for open stores and food to eat. (laughs) Many stalls were sold out by this time of the day, and I kept hearing, “I found it! Nooo, they’re sold out!” We all walked around the festival laughing a lot, and went home in great spirits. What made me happy was that we could all go back to the same house together. It’s great to be able to walk through the same front door and bask in the afterglow of the festival even after getting home.

What did you think? Although it’s very crowded, I’m sure you will enjoy the large-scale Kashiwa Festival, so please come and visit us next year! See you soon!