Natsu Matsuri 2013 in Singapore
3:45 PM
This year is the first time I'm going for the annual Natsu Matsuri and I was hella excited!!! Surprising how I didn't find out about it till I joined JCC in my school & they sent me a email asking if members wanting to go. I've been living under a rock for so long omg...
We arrived early for yukatas but unfortunately we got cheated. D:< We got tix from my club beforehand so we didn't need to queue and just headed straight to where the entrance to go in were. But actually we were suppose to turn the corner and there was actually a line there to pay for our yukatas :(.
So upset that we couldn't get it. But oh well, there's always next year.... Instead we watched the opening performance involving taiko drums and whole lot of other Japanese instruments. It was really, really cool. As expected of the Japanese really *o*
They didn't check for identifications when we got ourselves some draft Asahi Beer. It was quite refreshing for me but Dan not being an alcohol lover stayed away :(. Look at the many stores! There were so many different kinds of food being sold and the queues were really long.
To cheer me up we bought some snacks to munch on! I think we bought alot of useless stuff in the end. BUT it also helped enhanced our experience there anyway.
Check out my cute Rilakkuma mask! It's so friggggiiiiinnn' cute omgosh. But I have no idea to do with it anymore now. HAHA. It's not a face mask btw. The masks sold in Japanese festival are supposed to be worn at the side of your head like you see me wearing.
This phone strap is simple, but also super duper meaningful. Remember the Tsunami that happened in Japan not too long ago? The strap comes from Tsunami survivors involved in a project that makes these straps to raise funds. The stall has many other stuff that these survivors had made also.
It comes in a packet like this. Don't fret if you're a smartphone user because there's a jack to slot in into your phone. Yay to handphone straps! Inside this packet, there is a story written by the person who did the accessory. It is so heartbreaking to read the first-hand experience by her. By purchasing the accessory, we can all help in a small, little way.
Bracing the hot evening sun! It was starting to get very humid. :(
We went to play some games at the booths at the field! There was Shooting, Yoyo Tsuri and one more which name I can't remember haha. Sad to say, we sucked at the games. NOT EASY. But there were some kids who got some prizes. They're probably seasoned gamers hahaha.
Dan was so lucky 'cos he managed to get 6 balloons in one go (WTH). The balloons are attached to a rubber band with a loop at the end that you have to hook through with only a metal hook held by a paper string. I dropped mine the first time I tried sigh :( and after his 6th balloon, Dan passed his string to me and I dropped the hook on the next one I tried T_T
WHYYYYY
Then came the last event of the day, the Bon Odori. Everyone was dancing along together and it was such a sight to behold : ) Besides the heat, everything else was quite an experience. There were also very little seats so we had to look for very long before we could settle down to have our food.
Other than that, it was so enjoyable to communicate with Japanese people and enjoying a festival with everyone else there.
I'll definitely go next year, and WITH A YUKATA FOR SURE.
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