Mrs.Muncy here!

I am so excited to be in Japan! My daughter Caitlyn and I have spent the last 6 months planning and researching Japanese folk songs, the areas they originated in and Japanese culture.

Our first major destination after arriving in Tokyo was the city of Sapporo in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. The folk song “Soran Bushi” originated there. The song is a lively sea chantey to be sung while fishing. The Yosakoi Soran Festival started in Sapporo in 1992 and is a 4 day dance event that takes place in and around Odori Park. The Festival draws thousands of spectators and dance groups dressed in colorful costumes. The rules for competing in the festival are 1. Use a phrase from the folk song “Soran bushi” 2. Use a naruko, (a small wooden clappers originally used to scare birds away from crops) in your hands while dancing. The festival is a great way of combining historical music with a modern twist.

Caitlyn and I attended 2 days of the festival. We were very impressed with the creative moves, dances, colorful costumes and music of each group. There was still an element of the folk song with a modern interpretation keeping the interest of the younger generation in the history of the fishing industry of their forefathers .

Traveling to Sapporo included taking a taxi from Bethany’s apartment, taking a bus to Haneda/ Tokyo airport, flying to Sapporo ( which took 1 1/2 hours) taking a train from the airport to Sapporo and finding our hotel. This would have been a daunting task if not for the wonderful help of Bethany, the Hisada family and the kindness of several people we met. Traveling in Japan is an adjustment since I am use to getting in my car and driving from place to place. Japan has a great transit system but there is a learning curve when trying to get on the correct bus or train!

Tuesday morning we decided on a whim to go to Mt. Fuji. We had activated our JR pass (a pass for foreigners to travel on trains, etc. in Japan) and wanted to maximize using it on bullet trains, etc. We left around 9:30 to avoid rush hour on the trains since leaving at the wrong time means standing shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other people. This was going to be our first major excursion by ourselves on major trains!! Here is what happened…
– took the nearby station train to Ikebukuro station
-changed trains and took Marunouchi line to Tokyo station
-changed trains to JR lines what we thought was the bullet train to Odawara (got on the slow train by mistake but saw lots of pretty scenery)
– got on a train at Odawara to Hakone Yumoto
-changed trains again which took us through the mountains to Kowakidani
– rode a bus to Hakone Machi ko
– ate lunch overlooking Lake Ashi – yummy tempura!!
– boarded a ship and sailed to Togendai-ko where we hoped to have an awesome view of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately fog was everywhere and we saw very little
– briefly walked around shops at Hakone
– boarded the bus and went through the same steps in reverse with the exception that we got on the bullet train and got back to Tokyo in a third of the time it took on the way to Hakone.

Tomorrow we’ll be attending the Sanno festival, and are headed to Kyoto this weekend! Lots of adventures ahead! Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more updates and photos.