Elijah - Aki-Matsuri

Sorry about the late post, but last weekend we went on a field trip to Korea Town and a Japanese festival called Aki-Matsuri. For those of you unaware of the Japanese language Aki means fall and matsuri means festival though it is talking about a much different experience than one would find in America.

Our trip began like this: Large group of foreigners lead by our equally as foreign Culture and Every day Life in Japan teacher (though he speaks basically fluent Japanese) met up in front of the CIE (center for international education) building and headed to Hirakata-shi station. We boarded a train taking us to Kyōbashi station where we would switch train lines to take us to Tsuruhashi station. From Tsuruhashi station we walked to the two shrines that would be hosting the festival later that night. After taking a look at the shrines we walked a short distance to what is finally known as Korea Town. Korea Town was a very different place from what I am used to seeing in Japan. It was very interesting to see an entirely different culture stuck in the middle of a Japanese city, but most importantly we got to meet the kimchi terminator. After exploring Korea Town for a while it started getting dark and we went back to the area where the shrines were and where the festival was starting. Inside the shrine there were many booths set up where you could buy food or play small carnivalesk games that are popular in Japan. Not long after we got back to the shrine we heard the Danjiri nearby and people started gathering on the road to see. The tradition of the Danjiri is that the god of the shrine is placed inside the Danjiri for the duration of the festival and carted around the city. It was a very different experience than anything I've ever seen in America, but it was a lot of fun and the community in the area was very prominent and even though we were foreigners we were very welcomed to participate and enjoy the festival right along with the residents of the town.

Japanese Rain Control

In Japan, especially in neighborhoods, there are these huge gutter systems that run along the edge of the road. Because, at least were I live, there aren't ditches, they need these gutters to keep the water off the road.

Many times homeowners will put metal sheets over parts of the gutter so that they can drive their cars over it or just for safety. When riding bikes you might fall in, so be careful!

I only got a few pictures, but I think you can get an idea of how these work.  At certain parts of every gutter there is a vertical drain which I assume goes to sewer system.

Indoor Fire Safety

In Japan they don't kid around about securing a building during a fire. When a fire alarm goes off, walls descend around the staircases completely closing them off in an attempt to make them smoke free. Make it to the staircase and you're golden.  There are doors that will let you into the staircase. If you look in the pictures you can see the small slot where the walls come down from.

If you are in a classroom on a top floor, there is a device which can be used to lower students to the ground outside. It is similar to a shoot, however it is designed such that even an unconscious person can be put in and lowered down just by sliding down it.  Sorry I have no pictures of this device.