Sendai Tanabata (2): Outdoor shows

While the highlight of the Tanabata is definitely the long, flowing Fukinagashi streamers around town that I mentioned here, the festival has in recent times expanded to include outdoor events as well.

There are free musical and cultural performances by groups from Sendai and other parts of Japan, as well as the usual food and games stalls lining the sidewalks, turning the city into one big carnival.

At Kotodai Park, the main venue, you can catch live performances by local music artistes and school groups. There was also a segment where they showcased the Suzume-odori (すずめ踊り, meaning “Sparrow dance”), a part of the annual Aoba Matsuri (青葉まつり), a spring festival. The festival was not held this year because of the March 11 disasters.

A bunch of friendly youngsters at Kotodai Park (勾当台公園), the main venue for the outdoor performances during the Tanabata.

All photos taken with the Nikon F6, with the AFS 24mm f1.4 or AIS 35mm f1.4. I used Kodak Portra 800 and Fujifilm Superia  Premium 400 films.

It’s a hot day and wearing the yukata is not cooling enough – the perfect excuse to have a cold beer as you enjoy the festivities.

Others just put a wet towel over their heads, as they watch the performances on stage…

Local artistes singing their hearts out for Sendai.

A star from the 80s?

If you’re tired of standing under the sun, there is a big tent where you can learn how to make parts of the Sendai Tanabata ornaments. The ladies here are making part of the flower ball, which is found at the top of every fukinagashi.

Joanne showing off her handiwork. :)

Visitors may also get slips of paper to write tanzaku, which are short wishes that you can then hang up. The gentleman here is obviously deep in thought about what to write. (I took a while too)

The tanzaku are then hung up on strings tied to bamboo poles.

And of course there are lower strings for kids to tie their tanzaku as well!

There are also three photo booths set up about town by Nikon, where you may take portraits with friends and family.

Hachiko!! My first sighting of a real Akita Inu. This beautiful dog is named Mei, so I’m guessing it’s a ‘she’.

I think Sendai was the right place to end off the vacation. Unlike the previous three festivals we visited during this trip (Hirosaki Neputa, Aomori Nebuta and Akita Kanto), it is mainly a daytime event, and it is not performance-based. We effectively just walked about town, taking in the sights, and watching some random performances on the way while eating some snacks.

Given that Sendai is just under two hours away from Tokyo by Shinkansen, I’d say it’s worthwhile popping by if you’re in Japan between Aug 6 to 8. Aomori and Akita are quite a bit further away so you should be looking at a longer stay. Sendai’s Tanabata  could be covered in a day trip, so if you’re holding a JR Rail Pass it would make perfect sense to check it out.