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Fire and Alcohol Don't Mix (No Matter What the Pagans Say...)
Wow! What a blast! Well…after we figured out where the hell we were supposed to be. The bus drivers dropped us off outside the shrine, gave us a map that was almost all in Japanese and said, “We’re leaving at 830.” Oh, great.
Shawnee and I checked out the shrine first it was beautiful, and so serene. While we were there we participat
ed in a tea ceremony. We were just going to watch, but the women were pointing at the seats and saying, “Dozo” which means, “Go ahead”. So, we did it. I think we managed to not make absolute fools of ourselves. We watched as a Japanese version of Rhea Perlman did the actual ceremony, which is really just making the tea out of a sort of tea leaf powder. The tea is very frothy because of the whisk they use to make the tea. It’s very strong. Think of it as a shot of espresso only it’s green tea. http://www.easterntea.com/teaceremony.htm
After the shrine, Shawnee and I made our way into the direction we thought the mass of the festival would be. We ended walking down the wrong street, but eventually found a police woman who we asked to read the map. She signed directions to us, and told us that the festival didn’t start until 1900. Uh, it was only 1630. When we found the s
treet we were supposed to be on, m
ost of the vendors were still setting up, so we went into a high speed ramen shop and had a beer. (Of course, that was the only logical thing to do.) We had beer and gyoza and complained about the why this outdoor rec trip was organized. Shawnee had told me that usually there is a guide who tells you where you should be at what time so that you don’t miss any of the cool stuff. This trip was really unlike that. We had arrived way too early, and if they didn’t start until 1900, the busses left at 2030. That only gave us an hour and a half. We found out later that that was more than enough time, but it was something to complain about at the time.
After our second beer a group of people that Shawnee knew from other trips she had been on came into the restaurant. We had another beer with them. They are some cool people. I’ll defiantly be going on more trips if they’re on them.
Finally, we said good-bye and went to check out what was going on. The street had been totally transformed. There were towers of wood for burning about five feet apart all the way down the street, it smelled so good like pine. As I was taking a pictur
e of one, we met Neil and Alyssa. He and Shawnee hit it off right away. They were both photographers, so they babbled on about pictures the entire time. It’s a good thing that we started at the end and walked up, because if not me and Alyssa wouldn’t have gotten them anywhere. They were a great couple to spend time with though. What a bunch of fun they were.
So, what is the Fire Festival you ask? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am here for the soul purpose to answer those questions…the truth, I have no idea. Here’s a link that I found that explains it the best: http://www.city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp/div/english/html/festivalfire.htm Basically, it’s just the end of the Japanese summer and the end of the hiking season up Mt. Fuji. 
Speaking of Fuji-sen, while we were waiting for the fires to start if you looked down the street all you could see was Mt. Fuji shrouding the town. You could see the lights from the climbing stations. It was magnificent. I know why they worship the mountain like they do. It’s outstanding.
So, have you ever walked down a flaming street? It’s crazy! It smells so good! It feels like an inferno! I’m surprised no one gets hurt. There
are so many people on the street! And it’s hectic and absolutely nuts!
The night was great. I bought a semi-automatic rubber band sling shot. It shoots ten rubber bands consecutively at any unsuspecting person. I also bought a small painting of the 
Moulin Rouge. I know it was a strange buy. Why didn’t I buy something with Japan on it? Well, first I just liked the look of it, and second I had had about three beers and the same amount of Chu-hi at that point. So, yeah… The bus ride on the way back was not good. If Alyssa hasn’t given me those French fries I would really have been sucking wind. I’ll have to remember that for the next trip.
Wow! What a blast! Well…after we figured out where the hell we were supposed to be. The bus drivers dropped us off outside the shrine, gave us a map that was almost all in Japanese and said, “We’re leaving at 830.” Oh, great.
Shawnee and I checked out the shrine first it was beautiful, and so serene. While we were there we participat
ed in a tea ceremony. We were just going to watch, but the women were pointing at the seats and saying, “Dozo” which means, “Go ahead”. So, we did it. I think we managed to not make absolute fools of ourselves. We watched as a Japanese version of Rhea Perlman did the actual ceremony, which is really just making the tea out of a sort of tea leaf powder. The tea is very frothy because of the whisk they use to make the tea. It’s very strong. Think of it as a shot of espresso only it’s green tea. http://www.easterntea.com/teaceremony.htm
After the shrine, Shawnee and I made our way into the direction we thought the mass of the festival would be. We ended walking down the wrong street, but eventually found a police woman who we asked to read the map. She signed directions to us, and told us that the festival didn’t start until 1900. Uh, it was only 1630. When we found the s
treet we were supposed to be on, m
ost of the vendors were still setting up, so we went into a high speed ramen shop and had a beer. (Of course, that was the only logical thing to do.) We had beer and gyoza and complained about the why this outdoor rec trip was organized. Shawnee had told me that usually there is a guide who tells you where you should be at what time so that you don’t miss any of the cool stuff. This trip was really unlike that. We had arrived way too early, and if they didn’t start until 1900, the busses left at 2030. That only gave us an hour and a half. We found out later that that was more than enough time, but it was something to complain about at the time.
After our second beer a group of people that Shawnee knew from other trips she had been on came into the restaurant. We had another beer with them. They are some cool people. I’ll defiantly be going on more trips if they’re on them.
Finally, we said good-bye and went to check out what was going on. The street had been totally transformed. There were towers of wood for burning about five feet apart all the way down the street, it smelled so good like pine. As I was taking a pictur
e of one, we met Neil and Alyssa. He and Shawnee hit it off right away. They were both photographers, so they babbled on about pictures the entire time. It’s a good thing that we started at the end and walked up, because if not me and Alyssa wouldn’t have gotten them anywhere. They were a great couple to spend time with though. What a bunch of fun they were.
So, what is the Fire Festival you ask? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am here for the soul purpose to answer those questions…the truth, I have no idea. Here’s a link that I found that explains it the best: http://www.city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp/div/english/html/festivalfire.htm Basically, it’s just the end of the Japanese summer and the end of the hiking season up Mt. Fuji. 
Speaking of Fuji-sen, while we were waiting for the fires to start if you looked down the street all you could see was Mt. Fuji shrouding the town. You could see the lights from the climbing stations. It was magnificent. I know why they worship the mountain like they do. It’s outstanding.
So, have you ever walked down a flaming street? It’s crazy! It smells so good! It feels like an inferno! I’m surprised no one gets hurt. There
are so many people on the street! And it’s hectic and absolutely nuts!
The night was great. I bought a semi-automatic rubber band sling shot. It shoots ten rubber bands consecutively at any unsuspecting person. I also bought a small painting of the 
Moulin Rouge. I know it was a strange buy. Why didn’t I buy something with Japan on it? Well, first I just liked the look of it, and second I had had about three beers and the same amount of Chu-hi at that point. So, yeah… The bus ride on the way back was not good. If Alyssa hasn’t given me those French fries I would really have been sucking wind. I’ll have to remember that for the next trip.
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