We caught an interesting lion dance, and then went over to buy the tiny little saucer cup that is necessary to participate in the drinking festivities. After that, they rolled out some tatami mats for everyone to sit on, and then we waited for the fun to start.
A bunch of the other JETs from Takayama also came up for the festival, so it was nice to get to see all of them as well. So then all of a sudden, a bunch of the temple ladies came down with kettles of this doburoku sake and made their made down the aisle, pouring everyone's saucer. For awhile, we were getting screwed, as the ladies would run out just before us, and not bother to start where they stopped when they came back with a fresh kettle.
Nothing like a big ol' kettle of sake.
Finally we got our first pour, and dang, that stuff was strong. My initial thought was "paint thinner!" and I'm sure I made quite the face. After that, though, I knew what to expect. And of course, the more I consumed, the better it began to taste. One of the unique things about doburoku is that there are still grains of rice in it, and it is an opaque white. Danielle, the JET from Takayama sitting next to me, and I didn't care as much for the rice in the sake, as it had taken on a rather odd, almost chalky texture from having sat in the alcohol so long. So we noticed with the kettles that all the rice, naturally, sits at the bottom, which means if you get a pour from a relatively fresh kettle, it's smooth with no rice. So we tried to time it where we would leave some sake in our saucer (and thus they wouldn't pour) if we saw someone coming who was pouring out the last dregs from their kettle. Despite our best efforts, though, we still we stuck a couple times with essentially a saucer full of alcoholic rice. I soon lost count, since I am a sucker for free stuff and they just kept pouring.
Kampai! (Cheers!)
After sufficient alcohol was consumed, we started to get friendly with our neighboring Japanese folk, who thought it was great that we enjoyed this stuff. One of the guys down the aisle a good 5 or 6 people thought it was highly entertaining to feed us some of the odd, Japanese snacks he had brought with him. A number of the other JETs just kept passing the stuff down, but I made sure to try each thing, and then give him a big thumbs up and say "It's delicious", if anything just to prove that we foreigners aren't so squeamish. One of the particularly disgusting looking things that was passed down had an equally disgusting texture and crunch to it, along with a vaguely "oceany" taste. I figured some sort of seafood, and later heard someone say those might have been octopus beaks...I didn't even know they HAD beaks. Not something I'd volunteer to go back for seconds on, that's for sure. Alack, alas, the drinking finally ended, and everyone in front of the temple was properly toasted...and it was only 4pm. I almost felt like I was back in Wisconsin.
As we walked up to rinse off our saucers, we ran into some random, trashed old Japanese guy who maybe had half of his teeth left and had the most random conversation. I could hardly make out anything intelligible, though. Old guy speak is hard enough to understand, let alone when they are smashed and happen to be missing half their teeth. It was a random experience, nonetheless.
Sadly, the Takayama JETs ditched out right away to head back for Takayama, which is a shame since I rarely get to see them and they are a fun bunch. Even more unfortunate was the face that the friend I was staying with got sick and went back to his apartment to lay down (despite the fact that he had maybe 2-3 saucers, compared to everyone else's couple dozen). He had another friend visiting, who just so happened to be some Japanese dude in his 40s. Not exactly someone who I have a ton in common with. So we headed to the one convenience store in the village to get a few things, and then just ended up chilling outside this store having incredibly awkward conversations filled with equally awkward silences, for what seemed like an eternity. We eventually headed back to our friend's apartment to wake him up for some school function related to the festival he had to participate in. We stayed at the apartment and ate dinner, along with more awkward conversation. When our friend finally got back, we pretty much ended up watching a bunch of Youtube videos until heading to bed. It wasn't exactly the night of drinking and debauchery I had mind when I first heard the words "sake festival", but oh well, you can't win 'em all.
The next morning we walked over the area with all of the neat houses and did the tourist loop, walking up an inclined path to where there is a rather nice view down onto the village. We walked through one of the houses that had been converted into a museum, so that was neat. Not too much else to say. The scenery was amazing, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. After that, I got a ride back to Takayama, in which we took the scenic way where there isn't a toll. I'd hate to have to drive them all the time, but mountain roads in Japan have some of the best views. From Takayama I grabbed the bus back home.
Something here doesn't fit with the rest of the atmosphere...
Random Observation: So this happened just this past week, which I might mention, has been super hectic at work. I put in at least 4 hours of overtime this week, which, to be honest I don't mind once in awhile, since it means the work I'm doing is necessary and at least semi-important to somebody. Upon leaving late one day, I was stopped by one of my co-workers about something they wanted me to do for them. They suggested I maybe leave some time on Friday to do it, to which I gave a quizzical "Friday??" since we had the day off for a national holiday. After realizing this, he responded "Man, this day off is a pain in the butt, isn't it? I've got a bunch of work I need to get done. It gets in the way, right?" I mechanically agreed with him, while screaming bloody opposition in my head. I LOVE that day off, and every other random holiday we get off. I feel like this is one major point where cultural differences are painfully apparent. The importance and priority given to one's job in Japan is, in my opinion, ridiculous. I want to be good at what I do, and I want to be motivated to do my job, but somebody slap me if I ever refer to a day off as "a pain in the butt". That is all.
