The Sendai
Tanabata Star Festival
Food makes a perfect complement for enjoying the festival.
I spoke to an older man selling Miyagi Prefecture's signature seafood.
Hearing that I am Korean, he said, "Then you have to try the ascidians!"
Which he let me do.
Japanese people are not big consumers of ascidians, or sea squirts, but he guessed that Koreans like them.
Wow! Miyagi's ascidians were much bigger than the ones in Korea.
And delicious!
Although they had been frozen and then thawed, special techniques were apparently used to ensure that they were especially fresh.
I also tried Miyagi’s wakame seaweed and the very popular oysters before continuing my stroll.
I was entranced at the thousands of decorations that were each unique and completely handmade.
More than anything else, I felt that the best thing I gained was hearing Ms. Yamamura's stories about the sound of Japanese washi paper rustling in the wind.
But even more was in store for me!
Oh... What was that beautiful golden melody?
I was struck by how people were standing taking pictures with their arms stretched above them.
In the middle of that beautiful golden melody...
I was again entranced while gazing upward.
It was like a huge waterfall of cranes folded on golden paper was raining down.
Words were written on them like little gems.
The phrase that caught my attention most was, "From now on, not from then on."
The cranes included the names of many different schools, which piqued my interest, so I asked a nearby volunteer.
The Tanabata Festival really has a large number of volunteers who are always nearby throughout the arcade.
With a bit of pride, the volunteer explained, "This display of 80,000 golden cranes was folded by elementary and middle school students here in Sendai."
I am envious of Japan's matsuri (festival) culture.
That day when the typhoon came...
The final day of the festival and a day enjoyed with the people of Sendai who make the event possible.
A day also filled with many emotions from my conversations with these people.
Enjoying the Tanabata Festival in Sendai...
Writer Kim Yanghyeon
Born in Korea but living in Saitama, Yanghyeon married a Japanese man in 2001, and started a blog in 2004 about life in Japan, travel, food, and culture etc. (http://miuki73.blog.me/ ) Elected four years in a row (2008-2012) for Naver blog’s foreign living category power blogger, this blog has amassed over 7,000 followers as of October 2017.
