Cute lady selling dango/団子!
The last three days saw the annual Shizuoka Festival which was held all over town.
It is slowly becoming better organized thanks to contributions from the whole Prefecture and volunteer citizens, although the city and authorities do very little…
Anyway yesterday, a beautiful Sunday, I took the opportunity to take a few (a lot actually) pictures to show you all what a local (in Shizuoka City) festival looks like!
I first went to the Sumpu Castle (a 2/3 scale copy of the original) and Sumpu Park!
The entrance to the main “square” where most of the food stands were located.
The map of the whole park!
A small traditional band manned by physically-impaired children!
Tough-looking girls on the Japanese drums!
Drummers start young in Japan!
Unimpressive and idle Shizuoka policemen…
Shizuoka policemen (actually traffic wardens in spite of their guns and plates…) are notorious as a lazy breed…
Now, what is that castle for?
A giant air cushion for kids to play on!
Fancy a tour with a “jinrikisha”?
Some people also call this Festival the “Shizuoka Spring Cherry Blossoms festival”!
These knee-high stockings are very much in fashion this year!
Plenty of food and drinks under the cherry trees! Ever heard of “Hanami/花見”?
Bento stand!
Japanese-style country food!
Yomogi wagashi Japanese cakes!
Shizuoka Oden!
Tsubuan Manju!
Shizuoka-style okonomiyaki!
Floating balls for the kids!
Try your luck!
Shizuoka specialties: dried sakura ebi/cherry shrimp and shirasu/sardine whiting!
A treat that kids all over the world look for!
More Shizuoka Oden!
Very well organized event with many public dustbins!
Kimonos are still very much in fashion!
A whole range of fancy okonmiyaki!
Japanese-style soft ice creams!
Korean-style karaage/deep-fried chicken!
Preparing o mochi and kinako wagashi cakes!
More okonomiyaki!
No, they are not selling kangaroo meat!
Shizuoka is strawberry country!
The Japanese too love their hamburgers!
Yakisoba!
Famous Shizuoka’s Hatsukame sake!
Takoyaki/Octopus dumplings!
I took a break to enjoy some with a cup of the above sake!
Charcoal-grilled ayame and ayu trouts!
Dango/団子!
Hiroshima-style Suwaganiten and nigiriten!
Utsunomiya gyoza!
Japanese-style corn on the cob!
Mini okonomiyaki?
More Shizuoka-style oonomiyaki!
Sausages!
Giant Sasebo (Kyushu) hamburgers!
Yakitori and oden!
“Love and Peace Ice Cream”!
I finally moved out to a quick look at Aoba Park Street where the kids were having on giant air cushions!
Right in front of the city hall! I suspect that many a civil servant’s kid was there!
And then I walked and made myself a nuisance taking pics of dancing groups in the middle of the main thoroughfare!
Sexy dancers! Sorry for the fuzzy pic, I was not really looking at my camera….
Mothers and kids waiting for their turn!
The Japanese love to be taken in photographs but the setting sun was a bit of a nuisance!
Is that a gentleman in the middle?
My personal first prize for colorful costumes!
The last pic!
Looking for and forward to the next local festival!
SHIZUOKA TOURISM 