Relaxed Focus: Katsuura Elementary Marukatsu Festival.

So last weekend was a festival at the smaller of the two elementary schools I help teach at. It's a little school, with not a lot of students, and the area is kind of inaka/country. But because it's so small, there's this real sense of community at events there. It's very cool.

So to start off the day, all the classes designed games and activities for people to play. Pretty fun stuff.

Plus, anytime you can have official school events where you're smacking kids about with makeshift hammers, that's a good time.

The kid's choir/chorus/vocal group had been practicing their songs for a few weeks. I dug this one the best. It's only about thirty of the students, but that's actually a good 2/3rds of the whole school population. They pretty much rock out.

I don't know what they put in the food and the water out there, but they have some adorable little kids at Katsuura.

Among the entertainment was a harmonica group, which included harmonicas larger than the heads of the women that played them. Till you've seen 5 older Japanese ladies working in harmonica unison, you haven't really lived.

They had a magician perform as well. I've dug magic since I was a kid... the magician wasn't bad, but a lot of his tricks were trick-prop tricks, and a couple didn't execute quite right. I felt a little bad for him, but he marched on and did pretty well.

The official throwing of the mochi. You can't have a festival in Japan without something rice related.

Zenzai - it's like hot liquid daifuku. Good stuff.

"Cock O' the Walk" indeed. [Cool jacket.]

They also had a band called, wait for it... The Wonderful Band. And they kinda were. Mainly because they sang in both English and Japanese. And they were pretty good. Rocking old standards from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Sandy and I both agreed they'd be a great bar band. Check out their Blue Suede Shoes cover.

They also ripped a good version of Johnny B Goode and, oddly enough, Paul Anka's Diana.

Sandy particularly dug the drummer, mainly for his handlebar mustache and ponytail... which you can kinda make out here.

That cotton candy is bigger than that child's head.

That adorable little girl in the middle, mouth wide open has a future in sales. The kids were selling breads and pastries. In Japan, tradition is when you enter a shop, salespeople yell out "Irrashaimase!" in welcome. That little child, with that tiny little body, had a big ol' voice that carried clear over to the next building.

A-DOR-A-BLE!

Sandy and I play games. And we are awesome.

Check out that form!

You know, if you count the fallen bottles in my pictures, and then you count the bottles that fell in Sandy's picture, you can work out which one of us is the superior bowler.

Just sayin'.