Fall Festival

She was called at the junior high school and told to come back to the Board of Education early. The students didn't have class that afternoon since they were preparing for the school festival so she was easily dismissed. She was informed shortly after arriving that the Fall Festival (or 秋祭) was beginning that night and wouldn't she like to join them in going to listen to the students’ brass band performance? So the first day she tries wearing more casual clothes to school (to match the other teachers) she finds herself walking into the festival with her supervisor, her supervisor’s boss’s boss, and a man who shares his name with the town (and so she assumes is rather important). And they were, of course, all clad in black suits…

Unlike the carnivals or fairs back home that have single entity mobile food stands or fancy games, festivals here comprise of networks of pop-up awnings and local food sellers; tent after tent of yaki-niku, yaki-soba, tako-yaki, sweet potatoes, fresh seafood and much more being grilled, roasted, and assembled right before your eyes. Fresh produce and home-made goods were also for sale. There were tents filled with little pictures, masks, and toys for children to play simple games for. They walked around the perimeter of tents, greeting the shop-keepers and even being offered a free turn at a few of the games. She tried getting a water yoyo (which has a paper anchor for the hook and disintegrate faster than she thought) and capturing goldfish (which uses an ice cream cone consistency scooper that also falls apart faster than she thought…). She only caught two but the man running it gave her an extra~ Soon, it was time to sit and listen to the elementary school band. Her entourage was surprised to hear that she didn't play an instrument, and had never learned one in school. She could understand their bafflement when the elementary band started to play. Children only about ten to twelve years old sounding in harmony together—even performing solos without music in front of them! The junior high students came on next and were more astonishing still. She was thoroughly impressed and beamed at the students she had only known for a month, but felt so proud of (regardless of her non-involvement with their musical prowess). Her chaperones led her back to the office building after that and she thanked them thoroughly before returning home. It was getting dark soon and she had to find supplies of some sort for her new impromptu pets (all being named Ponyo, since fish are not her specialty…), and she wanted to return to the festival to try some food!

Yoyo and fish from the first adventure~

After running over to the hyaku-en shop (the equivalent to a much nicer dollar store) and getting basic fish pellets and a large bowl-

(with too big of an opening in hindsight…)

-she returned to the festival.

It was dark by this time but she bought some sweet potato wedges and began to wander. It didn't take long for her to be found by some of her students. Different groups came and went throughout the night, but they all seemed astonished and excited at her being there. Some were even holding hands as their friends teased them of being in “lovey-lovey”. She re-visited the goldfish and yoyo tents as well as the home produce corner to pick up a jar of real honey (a luxury, yes, but she believed it a worthy sacrifice in the name of supporting her local neighbors).

(She even got to watch one of her students be a pro at the yoyo game~)

(a video of this endeavor can be found here)
(the author really dislikes hearing her own voice....)

After she had made multiple circuits of the tents, she decided she didn’t want to make any of her students (or the rest of the townspeople, for that matter) feel obliged to talk to her. She stopped at the crepe stand (of course) and returned home with her spoils.