Summer Festival (Natsu Matsuri)

Annually, the Japanese Association in Singapore organizes a special event for Japanese living in Singapore and local Singaporeans; Yes, it is the Summer Festival or Natsu Matsuri which is a funfair-like event where everyone can try out authentic Japanese food and games, and perhaps also gain a better understanding of Japanese people and their culture.

Initially, I wasn't too sure of when and where to buy the tickets from for the Summer Festival. But soon, I was fed with detailed information from Eric a.k.a Imuya who performed a dance in a group at the festival.

We were told that the tickets will be sold at 6 in the evening. But being the kiasu Singaporean, we went as early as 2 in the afternoon to queue for the tickets. I met up with Sora and then advanced to Bedok to meet up with Enzo.

Upon arriving at the Japanese School, where the Summer Festival was held, we were stopped at the entrance by the security guard. Then we realized that the tickets will only be sold after 5pm. Frustrated I was when he did not allow us to even stay in the school.

I glanced at my wrist watch and noticed we had more than three hours to spare before the ticketing booths opened. I, who had to decide on where to go, suggested to travel to Pulau Ubin to have our lunch there, considering for the fact that they serve a large plate of noodles/rice for just 3 dollars.

The trip to and fro Pulau Ubin costs 4 dollars. I must say, it's worth it.

I thought of cycling but my outfit did not allow me to do so.

Come on, how can I cycle in my formal wear; prespiring and dirtying my clothes.

The scenery was just too breathtaking. It was just too fabulous. Obviously, I sat next to the opened window. I was lucky enough to have the seat next to that window as the other windows were faulty or shut tightly.

I thought it would be a long ride but never did I expect it to be such a short journey of at least 10 minutes. Immediately, we proceeded to the seafood restaurant that was located near the jetty.

My stomach was rumbling. I ordered seafood hor fun and coconut drink. I was amazed at how large the serving was for just 3 d0llars and the coconut drink was simply too mouth-watering.

I wanted to order one more but soon realized that I would be short of cash for the summer festival if I were to order just one more drink.

How miserable I could get? No lah! I forgot to bring extra cash out with me...

It was almost four and so we decided to go back to the Japanese school to queue up for the tickets. By the time we reached there, we were shocked to see how long the queue was.

We queued and minutes later, William and Yutaro joined us. It took us 1 1/2 bloody long hours to get through the queue! Sucky!

Left to right: Idil a.k.a Enzo, Terence/Yutaro, Isaac a.k.a Silver and Ivan a.k.a Isvorna.

For ten freaking dollars, we get a free fan and many coupons for the games and food/drinks.

How cool is that HUH?

I think I am dressed too formally; I felt so left out! But hey, I wasn't one of those guys who put on heavy mascara and make-up, like the ones I saw at the festival.

Throughout the night, there were various preformances such as Taiko or drum performances by JAS (Japanese Association of Singapore) Taiko Group and Clementi School Taiko Group, modern dance performances from Changi School and JAS Dance Group, and also folk dances from JAS Folk Dance Group.

But all of us were anticipating the dance that will be performed by Eric a.k.a Imuya and his group of friends from Nanyang Polytechnic.

Preparing for the dance...

Above picture: If you all did not know, they were doing the zombie dance. Really creative of them to come up something like that.

Above picture: The girl seemed to be having problem with her movements. I think she was cramping up. She looked so stiff.

That's Eric a.k.a Imuya, our friend.

Besides the food and performances, Natsu Matsuri is also a time for some special games. One of the favourites and very well-known one is Kin-Gyo-Su-Kui, which can be directly translated to "Scoop a Goldfish".

For those who have not heard of this game, it basically involves an individual trying to "scoop up" goldfish using a very thin piece of paper which breaks easily. This game is very popular among Japanese kids, though adults loves it too. Just look at the queue for the KinGyoSuKui Stall, it is exceptionally long.

But too bad, I did not give it a try.

We wanted to take pictures with girls in kimono or just any Japanese girls. Girls selling beers, can do!

From afar, she looked like the Taiwanese singer, Makiyo. She's cute, really cute.

And she is wearing bracers. MORE CUTER!

I don't care - I have to stand beside her. ^_^

And yet, we took picture with another beer girl. My friends claimed that she was much prettier than the previous but I beg to differ. I still think that the previous beer girl looks more cuter in every way.

And it looked like Yutaro do not even need to go for suntanning. By the end of the festival, as you can see from the picture, his face became tanner.

Blessed Be! (Isaac Ritz)