Culture, Kids, Geography and a Festival

I arrived in Beppu on Friday July 23rd. This just happened to be around the same time that Beppu has it's annual summer 5 day festival. This festival is filled with daily markets, dancing, singing, fireworks and interesting cultural displays. There are tons of food vendors. It is just like a farmers market. I like it because I get to see some of the food that Beppu has at a farmers market. It is also really interesting walking around and watching people interact.

Here is a little bit of background knowledge to give some context. Japan is made up of 4 main islands (there are many smaller islands). The 4 islands are: Honsho, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido. The best comparison I could give to the United States is it is kind of like: The west coast, the east coast, the midwest, etc. Except here the islands are very clearly defined. Honshu is the main island where many of the famous cities are located (Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima, etc). Just like in the states (with the west coast, east coast, midwest, etc) each of these islands has its own culture and personality.




Beppu is in Kyushu. I was shocked when I first got to Kyushu because there was actually trash on the ground. Also, in kyushu I have seeing fat Japanese people(Japanese people are very thin). It feels more laid back in Kyushu and a little bit more western. I notice children wearing baggy clothes with their boxers showing. I did not see this in Honshu at all. It is hard for me to understand if the lifestyle in Beppu is like all of Kyushu or simply Beppu. Beppu kind of has a little bit of a Vegas feel to it but less glamorous. There are many Pachinko Slots in Beppu (this is like Japanese gambling slot machines but uses silver balls. I don't quite understand it). There are also many strip clubs in Beppu (I have gone to none!) There seems to be a laid back vibe among the people and culture here.

Back to the original point, the festival has been really cool. Yesterday there was a fireworks display and a huge line of Japanese dancers all dressed in Yukatas (traditional Japanese summer wear that looks like robes). It was really cool. I love watching little children because this provides me with a door to the culture. Kids do as they please, as if no one is watching. I love watching them because they could just as easily be american. I see kids staring at trees and singing to themselves. I see them playing with each other. I see brothers and sisters annoying each other. I see kids getting excited about little things in their environment. It amazes me how similar yet different we all are.

Some of the dancers from the festival

This is rice wrapped in thin beef

f. Some food I got at the festival. I think it was fried chicken...



Tony (a fellow californian that is travelling around the world), Mathew (a hilarious German who has primarily gotten around Japan by hitchhiking) and I went to the farmers market and explored. One of the funny things is that we went to a convenient store. Mathew grabbed beers for all of us. When we got outside Mathew opened his beer up and started drinking. Tony and I looked at each other and said "you can do that?!" Mathew said "do what?" Tony and I quickly said "we got to take a picture of this!" Mathew started laughing. He said in Germany you can have an open container (just like in Japan) in public. To him it was no big deal. To us it was novelty.

Mathew Tony and I showing off our beers in public


Mathew saw these woman and told them "we must take a picture with you because of your beauty"