© 1987 Lawrence I. Charters and Catherine Hall
Off Duty, July 1987, pp. 26-26b.
Visit Tokyo Disneyland on the Fourth of July, or choose from many Japanese style happenings during the month.
Dread and despair were threatening to overwhelm the city. Though July’s hot, sticky heat was everywhere, residents couldn’t help but feel a chill. A plague was stalking Kyoto, the new capital city, striking down nobles and peasants alike. It was the year A.D. 896.
In desperation, the Emperor ordered 66 spears, one for each province, to be erected in the Imperial Park, and prayers were offered at Yasaka Shrine. The plague came to an end, the city survived and prospered, and the Gion Matsuri (Gion Festival) became a permanent part of Kyoto’s yearly calendar.
Technically, the festival lasts the entire month, but the real excitement comes during July 15-17. The main streets downtown are blocked off at night, and taken over by literally hundreds of thousands of pedestrians, parading around in yukata (lightweight, colorful cotton kimono), singing, eating and drinking, dancing, and enjoying life. On July 17, a day-long parade takes to the streets, and huge, ornately decorated floats, some manned by dozens of musicians and priests, wind their way through the city’s center. One of Kyoto’s three big festivals, the Gion Matsuri is by far the grandest and most colorful. Rather than recall a dark time of plague with somber ceremonies, the people of Kyoto stage a celebration of life, and it’s unforgettable.
If you don’t have a tour reservation already, contact your local tours outlet for a hotel reservation, then hop on a Shinkansen (bullet train) for Kyoto. This is a perfect time to take in one of the world’s most charming cities, and you’ll hate yourself if you miss this event. Be sure to get one of the T-shirts sold by street vendors reading: “Gion — since 869.”
At Kyoto, the end of a dread plague in A.D. 896 is commemorated every July in the Gion Festival. Photo by Lawrence I. Charters, scanned from print.
A more modern “festival” of sorts takes place in Tokyo’s Akihabara district during the summer. This district is the consumer electronics capital of the world, with 400 shops crammed into just a few blocks, doing more than $4 billion in sales every year. More foreigners visit Akihabara, in fact, than see Mt. Fuji.
Warm weather brings out Akihabara’s version of street people: sidewalk vendors selling everything from computer chips to secondhand Russian-language teletype machines. Some of the iterns — the teletype machines, for example — are major mysteries (where did they come from?), while others are minor miracles of technology (battery-powered compact disc players you can stuff in a purse). While the U.S. and Japan trade insults about trade deficits and computer chip dumping, you can visit Akihabara and see these chips in their “native” habitat, and at bargain prices.
Akihabara is Tokyo’s bargain basement district for electronic goods. Photo by Lawrence I. Charters, scanned from print.
You’ve probably noticed by now that American Independence Day is on a Saturday, making July 3 an even worse Friday than usual: you have to work. But Camp Zama is willing to have you run — in their 5K Fire Cracker Relay. On the Fourth, “How to Eat Like a Child” will be performed at the Music and Theater Workshop, and all-day events will include the mandatory softball games, food booths, rides and entertainment.
Misawa also plans a Fun Fourth with the Wacky Summer Olympics. Several unusual events are scheduled, but the purpose is very traditional: this is a good excuse to get out and have fun. Yokosuka, Yokota, Atsugi, Iwakuni and Sasebo have not forgotten the Fourth, but were still busy planning as this was written. Whatever you do, don’t stay home; even if you don’t like carnival rides and hot dogs, getting out and seeing your fellow Americans at play is a great boost to the spirits when you’re thousands of miles from home.
One thing you will probably miss is fireworks, but don’t worry. While the Japanese have little interest in our national holiday, they do celebrate a major Buddhist festival, Bon, with fireworks, and Bon starts in July. The city of Yokosuka puts on a particularly colorful show late in the month, launching the rockets from a barge anchored right off base. As a guess, this will probably be staged on the 18th or the 25th, and it may well be the best fireworks display you’ll ever see.
Misawa has two interesting festivals in late July, the Misawa Beach Festival on the 19th and the Tanabata Matsuri on July 24-26. The Beach Festival marks the official opening of Misawa Beach, and includes a “Miss Ogawara” beauty pageant, with both Japanese and American beauties selected.
The Tanabata, or Star Festival is not unique to Misawa, being celebrated throughout Japan during the summer, but Misawa does a particularly good job. Based on an old Chinese fairy tale, it celebrates two lovers who were literally star-crossed. The stars Vega and Altair, according to this tale, are actually lovers who are united during the Tanabata Matsuri. Misawa’s main streets are closed for the celebrations, and elaborate paper decorations are hung from the long poles in front of businesses. There are prizes offered for the best decorations, and competition is fierce. Shops and restaurants stay open late, live entertainment plays until late into the night, and everyone has a grand time.
July is probably your last chance to see Tokyo Disneyland before the August crush. Each weekend, Disneyland puts on a brilliant “Electric Light Parade” right after dusk, followed by a fireworks display. Disney stories and characters are recreated in huge floats formed from hundreds of thousands of lights, and the floats parade from Cinderella’s Castle to familiar Disney theme songs. If you miss Disneyland in July, you’ll probably want to wait until September to visit. During August, the entire park is one huge line of people waiting for rides, exhibits, or food.
One way to escape the summer heat is by going somewhere cool, such as Fuji-san, Japan’s highest mountain. While technically still classed as an active volcano, Fuji has cooled off in the last couple of centuries, and the view from the top is glorious. Getting there, however, isn’t easy: a two-mile climb is a two-mile climb. But for those willing to try, the Mt. Fuji climbing season opens in July and closes in August, and Yokosuka’s Tours & Ticketing office plans an outing every weekend. After you’re done, take an old T-shirt, burn some holes in it, and have it printed with the message: “I climbed Japan’s highest volcano.” Don’t bother to mention that millions of other people have, too.
Sumo fans should block out the period from July 5-19 on their calendars for the Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya. This tournament promises to be one of the year’s best, with Konishiki, the giant Samoan-Hawaiian, in a good position to win it all. Top division matches will be broadcast live on NHK TV’s Channel l every day, starting at 4 p.m. If you aren’t familiar with the sport, get a copy of Sumo World at your local Stars & Stripes Bookstore, and brush up on this 2,000-year-old sport before the next tournament, to be held in Tokyo on September 13-27.