Hey y'all, last weekend I went to a ceremonial bridge opening in Iizuka, about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. Since I've been here they've been doing a lot of construction around town - fixing sidewalks and roads, building this bridge, and moving a bunch of earth near the river that cuts through the city. Anyway, this bridge opening turned out to be a big deal for this town, and the turnout was kind of mighty (for Iizuka). I'm really happy one of my co-teachers told me about it, because the interesting dances and music were totally unexpected. Who would have thought such a display of Japanese culture could be present so close to my house at 10am on a Saturday?
I took some short videos of some of the dances that were performed. I especially enjoyed the last one performed, where older Japanese ladies dressed in fancy kimonos were cutting a rug on the bridge. The sight of these ladies reminded me of my grandma, Yoshiko - though I'm sure she'd rather be indoors watching sumo on TV and eating macaroni salad than be outside dancing in the streets like this...
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Hi Paul, My name is Daron. I lived in Iizuka in 2003-2004 (was a NOVA teacher while they were still around). I really enjoyed your blog. Brought back a lot of fond memories. Was that new bridge near i-Town? I remember when I visited again in 2006 all sorts of bridge construction.
Keep up the good work. Would love to see more pictures.
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