a novel that doesn't do justice to the earth celebration

i had the most incredible weekend. i can’t begin to convey the marvel that is the kodo drummers through writing but i’ll make an attempt. friday morning liz and i caught a bus [the correct one, i might add, with the help of the cutest lil’ ole lady at the bus stop] to naoetsu port where we happened to bump into hundreds of people waiting to board the ferry to sado island for the earth festival. many of them were other jets who we’d expected to see there. the ferry was awesome. instead of seats there are sprawling areas of fluffy blue carpet and everyone takes off their shoes and wallows around and sleeps for the 2 hours it takes to get there. i met a couple of English teachers who live near Kyoto that invited me to come visit [here’s to free places to stay]. we hit the island running, stashed our stuff at a mom and pop hotel for 500 yen, bought tickets [my teacher had reserved three day passes for us, good thing cause they were sold out of them] and headed to ogi port which is the center of the festivities. there was cheap delicious, food [over the course of the weekend i ate Indian curry and naan, green and red thai curry, fresh grilled fish sandwich, Mongolian tacos…] and lots of vendors selling hippy type wares. there was a small set up where people were playing drums and singing, people were twirling fire and kicking balls around. totally relaxed and inviting. due to the typhoon, friday’s performance was moved into a gymnasium. as we filed in, we passed the concession stand which was selling the cheapest beer on the island. we all sat Indian style waiting…they took the stage with a vengeance. banging small and medium sized taiko drums, dancing , spinning banners, screaming. it was amazing how tightly woven their sound was considering all the moving around. there were a couple of low-key numbers with traditional dancers and flutes. their best was yet to come. we headed to sobama beach on a bus and set up camp with about 15 other jets. there were already lots of tents there. a huge bonfire, lots of beers, drumming, dancing and singing ensued. saturday we rented some floats and spent the day on the beach. there was quite a bit of garbage on the sand and in the water, that weekend it was blamed on the typhoon but usually they say korea is responsible for dumping into the sea of japan. the area was incredible- mountains carpeted with greenery, rice paddies and farms dotted the landscape and there were huge rock formations along the coast about 20 yards out. [i would love to show you pics but my beloved camera is missing in action, r.i.p. i’ll share the story soon…right now it’s too painful.] you can check out their website to see some shots: click here. we headed to a shrine the next night for an outdoor performance by the featured guests, a gypsy brass band from Romania. our awesome tickets ensured us early entry. we climbed an ancient stone walkway lined with hand-painted lanterns that cut switchbacks up a mountain side at an incredibly steep grade. we entered a beautiful clearing and settled on the grass which didn’t last long. the band absolutely rocked. they played tubas and trumpets and saxophones and clarinets and cymbals. they hollered in Romanian and gave the belly dancer as many changes and beats as she could handle. it was impossible to sit still and eventually the entire crowd was standing and dancing. there was more drinking [a lil’ tequila] drumming and dancing back at the campfire. there was a cool breeze blowing in off the water and the fire made it the perfect temperature. a Japanese guy i’d danced with at the show introduced me to his friends who had studied in Canada and Australia, respectively. their English was amazing. i’m coming to consider being multi-lingual as the mark of extreme intelligence because it gives you the tools needed to learn as much as possible from so many sources. they played the didgeridoo [Australian woodwind] and guitar all night and we watched the sun set over the beach [of course, that happens around 4 am, so not that crazy…] sunday we were exhausted and slept at the market, on the beach, in the tent until show time. it was the finale and they put on an incredible show. it began with traditional Japanese dancing by kimono clad women, followed by a roaring set from the brass band. we danced like crazy along with the Japanese friends we’d made. then kodo took the stage. they wailed out songs unlike anything i’d ever heard. then they brought out the huge taiko drums on platforms and pounded out complex beats in huge sweeping motions. the amount of physicality involved is unbelievable. monday morning we woke to light, steady rain. packed up our tents and caught the 10:20 ferry back to noaetsu. the drummers were all at the port and did a huge send-off that was enough to nearly bring tears to your eyes.
although i returned poor, sick and camera-less, it was an amazing weekend. i already can’t wait till next year.