Chocolate Bananas, Sake, & Fried Chicken!

Not in that order and not all at one time. You can, however, get them at the same place - at festivals (matsuri) in Japan.

Last fall during my stay in Japan I went on a field trip to Sakura city in Chiba prefecture (prefecture next to Tokyo) to pay a visit to the folklore and culture museum. Luckily we had a chance to witness Sakura's annual fall festival during our visit. 
Now there's the standard Japanese "junk" food that I more or less expected to see at the festival - okonomiyaki, fried noodles, and mochi - but what I didn't expect was the abundance of fried chicken and chocolate banana stands.
As a fan of most foreign dishes and treats, of course I had to try it!

Opinions: Getting the chocolate banana was fun, since it involved playing a game of rock, paper, scissors with the vendor (you win, you get two / you lose, you get one); however, the dessert itself was bland. (Although this tends to be a comment most foreigners are accused of making regarding Japanese sweets, as a fan of Japanese sugary treats I'm not sure that was the case with this dessert). 
On the other hand the fried chicken, although at first glance looks ridiculously greasy and unappealing, is extremely delicious. I even tried some with Japanese mayo (local-style!).
Besides the cheering competitions between the Sakura local towns' people, the food was definitely the next best thing.

Oh and as for the sake - let's just say Sakura citizens are extremely generous and hospitable. Free "samples" on the house - yummy!

With game booths, misc. vendors, and cotton candy in DBZ and HK themed bags, what isn't great about a Japanese festival?

NYJapantown peoples have been raving about the food vendors that will attend this year's festival on Saturday, and I for one am extremely excited to try out all the delicious food samples!

Hope to rub shoulders with a few of you at the festival this weekend!
La Tenoli

IES Study Abroad: Tokyo

こんにちは！

So I've officially been here in Japan for a week and a half. ( 10 days )
These days have been the busiest, but the most exciting, of my college life.

Daily life here in Japan is so interesting to observe or better yet be a part of. Anime, Manga, Dramas, Movies, etc. are really all we have when trying to piece together an image of Japanese culture, society, and the nation as a whole. What you end up realizing is that most of the things you see are an exaggeration of the reality, and some things are no exaggeration at all.

So, I'll do my best to keep the updates rolling in.

Before I sign off, here's a little bit about the program and where I'm actually staying...
I'm in the IES program. Although it's called the "Tokyo Program", none of us actually live or go to school in Tokyo. It's a 20-30 train ride from where my homestay is and about a 15 minute train ride from Meikai University, where I'll be doing most of my studying this semester. My school's located at Shin Urayasu which is a stop away from Tokyo Disneyland. I live with my host family in Ichigawa city in Chiba prefecture.
I've been placed in my Japanese class and classes start next week. This is going to be one hell of a semester.

Signing off.
Paprika :)