I'm preparing to return to Japan for a vacation, and have been reading Lonely Planet: Japan to figure out where I want to go. The book in itself is lacking. To be fair, the book would be useful for someone with little travel savvy, or on a trip with very limited time and money. For us who with more experience in international culture, are familiar with travelling abroad, or have a little more money to spend - the internet is a far more exciting way to save money and research.

But a book I can bring on the train. So while I don't really use the Lonely Planet guidebook for references on what to do in a place, its nice to read about exotic places while monotonously travelling to a mundane job, and its even greater to know that the excitement of anticipation felt from reading about various places will hardly compare with our actual feelings when we get to Japan. My neck is all tingly from my soon-to-be-taken vacation!

It is also nice because reading about places I've been brings back such fond memories; and nearly every fond memory of Japan I have involves their new national drink: biru (Beer). So please be patient while I take a stroll down memory lane...

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I have to admit I haven't been to many Japanese matsuri (festival), partly because it means planning my vacation around a specific time frame (since they only happen annually), and partly because it makes the trip way more expensive (the hike in costs during the matsuri period means it will be extra difficult to find reasonably priced accommodation).

But the few matsuri I have attended were unforgettable. Especially the one which I attended while I was an exchange student in the beautiful town of hakodate. Every mid-August, there is a week-long extravaganza dubbed the ika-matsuri (literally Squid Festival). Pure awesomeness. After sundown, the streets are not only dotted with stalls of greasy Japanese food, mini-kegs of Sapporo beer, pointless souvenirs and carnival games; the main attraction is even more surreal: trucks brandishing commercial logos, shining huge fluorescent lights and blasting the same catchy song over and over while the masses enthusiastically hop along in unison to the ika-odori (a choreographed "squid dance") wearing traditional kimonos and yukatas! While most of the impromptu troupes are companies using the festival and their employees for some fun-filled (definitely not cheap) marketing, towards the end of the procession there are "open sections" for members of the public to dance, and thats exactly where I went to get my freak on! While the dance itself wasn't difficult, it took me a little while to get the dance moves down. But by the end of the parade (since we were nearing the end of the festivities we only danced for about 20 minutes) we were rocking the song and having a huge blast.

This is one of my best memories of Japan, and I often start to get nostalgic when I start thinking of it. Then I also start pondering why Japan matsuri are so fun. My conclusion is this: the free flow of beer. While my personal preference for this social lubricant might cloud my judgement, please hear me out. Festivals typically don't start till evening, while stalls shameless hawking overpriced (but in no way bad) knick-knacks, food and drinks start in the late afternoon, a good 2-3 hours before festivities truly begin. So while tourists and locals peruse through the myriad of stalls, sampling their greasy delicacies and washing it down with beer, they are effectively creating the endearing atmosphere that is prevalent at most festivals.

Anyhow. I don't want this blog to be a tribute to beer (Japanese or otherwise), but please don't be surprised if a few posts are dedicated to the wheaty deliciousness that is biru. I hardly consider myself a connoisseur of Beer, and I don't enjoy just any glass of frosty cold ale. For me, Japanese beer is a steady choice because of its relative dryness and solid flavour, and when drunk in an izakaya, matsuri or after a dip in the steaming onzen is usually accompanied by unbeatable atmosphere.