Hydrangea Day

Hydrangea day was back on June 20th.

I think hydrangea flowers are super beautiful.

Hydrangea Day isn't a national holiday or anything! I'm pretty sure its a special "Hofu Only" festival, and is celebrated at Amidaji temple, which is not quite in walking/biking distance to me, so I've only been there a couple of times. I will definitely go again next spring! So beautiful...

Like all festivals here, there was a lot of special "festival food" which is a lot of fried octopus balls and such. Its special festival food in the same way that "funnel cakes" are special in American festivals/fairs.

There was also Taiko drumming, and a lot of being "one" with nature (the mosquitos weren't even in full force yet!!! Those were the days...)

I only found out about Hydrangea day at the temple because of one of the essay homework assignments that I gave out! I think the prompt was something like this:

"I'm a stupid gaijin,..teach me something new about your country."

hahah. Not quite like that. But one student wrote about this festival, and invited me to go. It is actually very often that my students enrich my life here.

I love my students!!!!!!!!

I wish it were still March/April, for lots of reasons...

but its not! So as for now...it's time to start wearing a surgical mask while on my bike, so as not to accidentally eat a dozen bugs a minute!