Festivalitis

A little while ago I got the chance to experience an aspect of Japan that brought back a lot of memories from home: a festival weekend! Where are those good old days when us friends used to pack up our dusty tents, wait hours for overcrowded public transport to the festival site, stand in sweaty lines to get a drink while being chatted up by middle-aged men and fail to get any sleep at all? My girlfriends used this time to fantasise about living in a commune, while the guys -more often than not- ended up dozing off in a puddle of beer next to the bartent :-). Happy memories indeed!! This time I decided at the last minute to join Hannah, Dean, Erik, George, Henry, Jenni, ... to 'Concert on the Rock', a 2-day event held on a hillside three hours north of Fukuoka. The setting was gorgeous, and mostly filled with foreigners... Bit of a shame since we are after all in Japan, but maybe trendy Fukuoka-ites don't get excited about the idea of camping and sharing 4 toilets with 500 people! I'm definitely keen to go again next year, but some slight changes could be made: bring Vaughan as partner-in-crime :-), arrive early so as not to be forced to pitch the tent on a slope (makes for adventurous sleeping!), come prepared with a decent breakfast -a can of Coke wasn't the best way to start the day...- and last but by no means least, sort out some transport to get home. To our great relief Hannah and I were lucky to catch a ride back with Jill and Mario, thanks again guys!

Pristine festival setting

Hannah & I on arrival (me pro-sunburn!)

Dean & Henry getting into the red wine (as usual I was still on water at this stage) Hannah & Erik, two of my favorite people in Fukuoka. Incidently they're both American, but in their defense it has to be said they're also incredibly smart, interesting and well-traveled folks ;-)! Too bad in six weeks Erik's moving back to his native New York and Hannah's off to live in glorious Paris... Oh well, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?