Bunkasai

I just got back from Daiei - all I wanted was apples, but I found out when I got there that today also happened to be their annual summer festival 夏祭り! A stage + many food and game stalls were set up in the crowded parking lot... apparently it's a 2 day event and that I'll be returning tomorrow for dinner.

Little balls of sweet bean paste

So yesterday morning a group of us took part in a Japanese confectionery (wagashi, 和菓子) making class at the Hakodate Cooking School - we learned how to make manju (red bean paste wrapped with a thin bun-like skin) and namagashi 生菓子(in this case, pretty pink balls of sweet bean paste wrapped around a red bean paste). Wagashi is typically served with tea and is surprisingly filling and sweet. Yesterday I think I ate enough red bean to last me the rest of the program.

Chuubu high school's bunkasai

After a morning of bean paste shaping, a group of us made our way to Chuubu high school's annual culture festival, or bunkasai 文化祭. Classrooms were turned into temporary cafes serving anything from okonomiyaki and yakisoba to hot dogs and cake, and student's various talents were showcased on a stage set up in the gymnasium. I was especially excited to go through the haunted house since a whole episode of Nobuta wo Produce (a JDrama) was centered around the making of a haunted house for a bunkasai.

Had lunch at a 120 yen conveyor belt sushi place (so cheap but the quality was so-so), and then went home. Later tonight I'm going out for soup curry with my host family, and then am going to watch a fireworks display in Hakodate with some friends. Tomorrow is Marine Day (umi no hi 海の日), a national holiday - but for some reason we still have to go to class! Taihen, yo.