Dontosai

So last weekend was the annual Dontosai (Pronounced "Don't Oh Sigh") festival. It was really one of the highlights of my time in Japan in terms of seeing unique Japanese culture, (and it was a lot of fun.)



This is me in Front of the Dontosai bonfire.I don't have the picture I REALLY wanted to post here. (Of me and a few friends posing with some Junior High School boys dressed in their Dontosai gear.)







Anyway, Dontosai is a bonfire festival. People come and burn their New Year's decorations in the big bonfire. It's so environmentally unfriendly it's unbelievable, but it was all in good fun, so I guess that makes the environmental damage okay.







The people who are dressed up march several kilometers through town ringing there bells, and go up to pray at the shrine, and circle by the big bonfire.








Here are a couple of friends, Laura and Hein, who were full on participants. I was thinking about it, but the $100 entry fee was a little too steep...looked like fun though. It was about 2 degrees out, so they must have been cold!









After checking out the bonfire, I went to the temple part. People line up to make an offering, ring a big bell, and pray. I did it too, it all happens very quickly. You ring the bell, say a little prayer and clap your hands in the span of about 3 seconds. Suffice it to say, FDawg did not get a mention in my prayer, although Anna Kournakova's name may have come up.


Anyway, it was so packed full of people it was unreal, even by Japanese standards, but on the bright side, there were way more festival vendors out in force, which meant I got to eat fresh ~~KARAGE~~ booyah! If you can guess what Karage is, I'll be impressed! Tom on the other hand missed out on okonomiyaki...yech.

Against my better judgement, I've uploaded some video...good luck all!


Tony