would you believe...

...these girls are actually competing against each

other to win an unagi dinner.
What?
The contestants are paired up, and at the signal,
they both try to catch one of the unagi (eels) swimming
around in the little pool here. The first one to catch and throw
one out of the pool (yes, onto the ground for it to start
wriggling in the direction of onlookers!) wins the unagi dinner.
I'm sure that the nearby unagi restaurant sponsored
this event, which was one of the many activities that
was going on during the Kawamatsuri (River Festival).

Can you believe that my town is famous for these things? I mean - as in when you come to Isahaya, you need to eat their trademark dish, unagi. It is usually grilled with a sweet(ish) sauce and served over hot, white rice. It's also popular served as sushi (still grilled).

Hina Matsuri

Happy Hina Matsuri!
Hina = dolls representing courtiers
Ningyou = dolls
Matsuri = festival
On the 3rd day of March, Japanese families celebrate their pride in their daughters by displaying dolls of the Emperor and Empress in a prominent place in the home. Some doll sets also include all of the Imperial court attendants, musicians, and possessions. The dolls are not to be played with. I think this is akin to the Christian tradition of setting up a Nativity scene at Christmas. The "hinaningyou" are usually gifts from the grandparents or inherited from the girl's mother, and are quite delicate and expensive! They are unwrapped in a ceremony, admired for a few weeks and then put back in their boxes. According to one superstition, if the dolls aren't returned to their boxes soon after the 3rd, the daughters will not get married. (How is it I'm still not married? I didn't even HAVE dolls to put away late... I think I just played with trucks!)

By the way, I'm officially moving my birthday to 3/3...maybe that will be an easier date to remember - "tres-tres" (wink, wink CHRIS), it gives people an extra day to prepare (more winking, DAD), and I like the idea of my birthday coinciding with a national holiday that celebrates daughters. Don't worry, boys, there's one for you in May - but you get fish and samurai helmets instead of dolls.