Ok, this is about a month late - Horikiri is famous for it's iris garden, "Horikiri Shobuen". Around mid-June they have a festival to celebrate the iris flowers.
This is what I love about living in Japan; you come out of the supermarket and find yourself in the middle of the neighbourhood festival. I used to live in Horikiri and I loved the laid-back atmosphere. People are chatty here; they'll pop out of their shop to say hello. There's nothing much to see, apart from the iris garden (which is lovely in all seasons - I've posted pictures of the wisteria there, before). There are a couple of good ramen shops and the usual collection of sembei shops around the station. Every morning, a few elderly ladies gather in front of the station with their vegetables. They carry them in boxes wrapped in lovely old fabric, tied to their backs like ad-hoc backpacks.
The festival is the same - everyone knows each other. There are about 6 different dance troupes and a taiko drum team. The local boy scouts provide "security" - a piece of string to separate the dancers from the onlookers. After the festival, there's a bit of a karaoke competition; the local oldies belting out enka songs from the front of the shrine.
The moral is, if you hear drums, a flute and drums, or calls of "wasshoi", just follow the sounds!
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| Waiting for the parade |
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| Dancers with irises, getting ready. |
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| Drummers |
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| As I packed my grocery bags, I saw the drummers assembling. |
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| Awa odori dancers |
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| Happy feet |
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| Sponsored by the local paper. |
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