"Yumemachi Odori: Hana no Mai" Additional and Special Performances Announced We are pleased to announce additional and special performances of Atami geisha's "Yumemachi Odori: Hana no Mai," normally staged every Saturday and Sunday at the Atami Geisha Kenban Kaburenjo. Please enjoy professional dance performances that are rarely seen in everyday life: the elegance of kimono styling, graceful comportment, and breathtaking beauty. Come together with friends and family and join us for these shows. Additional Performance / Monday, December 9, 2024, 11:00 AM (Admission: 2,500 yen) Special Performances / Wednesday, January 1, 2025 (national holiday) and Thursday, January 2, 2025, 11:00 AM (Admission: 3,000 yen) Note: No performances on Saturday, December 21, 2024; Sunday, December 22, 2024; Saturday, December 28, 2024; and Sunday, December 29, 2024. Address / 17-13 Chuocho, Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture (along the Hatsukawa River) Reservations and Inquiries / Atami Geisha Kenban, Tel: 0557-81-3575 Access / From JR Atami Station, take a bus bound for Momijigaoka for about 10 minutes and get off at Shimizucho. Admission / 2,500 yen (tax included). January 1 and January 2: 3,000 yen. Free for elementary school children and younger. Parking / None (paid municipal parking available nearby) Performance Dates / Every Saturday and Sunday; December 9, 2024; January 1 and 2, 2025 Start Time / 11:00 AM (Performance runs about 30 minutes) Venue / Atami Geisha Kenban

The 22nd Fukushima Festival Today, Sunday, October 27th, the Fukushima Festival took place at the Welfare Center 😆👏 As always, we worried about rain, but amazingly it turned out sunny and even hot 🫢 It seems the people of Gokase Town’s good deeds convinced the weather to hold off the rain 😆 As soon as the event ended, though, it started raining right on cue ☂️ (laughs) The venue featured a bazaar booth stocked with a wide variety of items, and everyone was seriously checking each table for bargains 👀💡 There was also an exhibition booth showcasing lovely works created by local residents, and a wax ball-making experience booth run by the G Music Group, offering a relaxed, enjoyable program 🤗 So many delicious stalls lined up that I couldn’t decide what to have for lunch 🤤💕 Wandering around while deciding was part of the fun, though 🤩 The stage program included singing, dancing, and shamisen performances — it was truly fulfilling 🥳 The performers on stage and the cheering audience created a warm, unified atmosphere in the hall 😌💕 There were several moments when I was so moved that tears welled up as I held the camera (in fact, they even fell) 😭✨ In addition to the Social Welfare Council members, local junior high student volunteers and students from Kyushu University of Health and Welfare helped with the event’s operation 😳👏 Thanks to the students’ cooperation, the event took on a friendly, bright atmosphere 🫶 With this “Fukushima Festival,” the town’s October events have come to an end 🥹 November also brings many events 🤩 Everyone, to fully enjoy the upcoming events, please take care to avoid injuries and look after your health 🙌❤️‍🔥

Atami Gigi Kenban Yumemachi Odori: Hana no Mai The geiko association hall where geiko rigorously train, the geiko kenban. The current building was completed in 1954 (Showa 29). At the time it was an impressive structure and was said to be the finest geiko association in the Tokai region. Today the hall hosts Yumemachi Odori: Hana no Mai every Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the professional dances that are rarely seen in everyday life. The kimono styling, graceful manners, and breathtaking beauty are a sight to behold. Address / 17-13 Chuocho, Atami City, Shizuoka 413-0015 (along the Hatsukawa) Phone / 0557-81-3575 (Atami Gigi Kenban) Access / From JR atami station take the bus bound for Momijigaoka for about 10 minutes → get off at Shimizucho Dates and Times / Every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM (about 30 minutes). One performance only. Fee / 2,500 yen (tax included). Children in elementary school and younger are free. Parking / None (there is a nearby municipal paid parking lot) Reservation priority For visits to observe regular weekday training, please inquire Temporary cancellations may occur

I would be happy if you could experience "Honmamon" by appreciating the traditional performing arts of Japan on the stage, which is a comprehensive art. Traditional Japanese performing arts, By appreciating the stage, which is comprehensive art from,"Honmamon"the real thing it would be great if you could experience.

Japan has not only natural beauty but also it has very rich cultural events and festival. Few days ago I attended Ikebukoro Yasakoi dance festival. It was really amazing. May be better to say I was amused to see the dance. Hope next year all the page member could attend this event. Location: Ikebukoro

The Oi Shrine Grand Festival is also called the "Obi Festival" and is a festival in which the god of Oi Shrine returns to the old shrine site inn once every three years. Today, for three days including the second Sunday in October, a gorgeous festival is held in the town of Shimada where dainu, daimyo processions, Kashima odori, street stall dances from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue, and ground dances are held. Especially on the last day, all of them form a large procession together with the mikoshi procession, and they slowly parade for a whole day for a round trip of about 4 km from Oi Shrine to the inn. Due to the appearance and swing of the dainu at this time, as well as the unique form of Kashima Odori, the obi festival has come to be counted as one of the three strange festival in Japan. In addition, since the Edo period, first-class entertainers from Edo have been invited to choreographed dances in each town, Nagauta, and shamisen, and Nagauta in particular is also called "Nagauta Festival" because the iemoto of each school competed for throat.

Some more photos from Asukayama Park! The first monument is a bit difficult for me to read so I had to do a bit of research, but it seems to be a commemorative monument signifying the planting of various trees throughout the park to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, and as such, was constructed in 1968, so it's about 50 years old, probably one of the newer monuments of its kind within the park. When I was walking back around the area I saw the dance stage from a different angle and managed to take a photo of the participants through a nice gap in the trees. There were a lot more participants this time so I stopped and watched it for a little while again. At the other end of the park I found this statue of a woman which is actually a statue of the "Goddess of peace" and it was erected in 1974 to wish for world peace and happiness. Even cooler, it was erected by the famous sculptor Seibo Kitamura who erected the "Peace Statue" at Peace Memorial Park in Nagasaki. Really cool to see his works all the way in Tokyo as well!

Went to Asukayama Park near Oji Station yesterday. I've passed by the area many times and seen the gondola leading to the top but never knew what was up there until now. It's a really big park dedicated to Shibusawa Eiichi, known as the father of capitalism in Japan. The park has a bunch of monuments and cultural properties to check out so I managed to take a lot of photos and I'll be uploading them over the next few days. I chose a good day to go it seems too, as there was an event going on. It involved some traditional dances I think from the Oji area, and it involved some sort of sash that kind of reminded me of a kimono obi, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. They had a taiko drum as well but it seems I didn't make it in time to watch them playing, I only heard it in the distance when I was walking to the park. I thought it was really cool seeing all the different monuments though. Many of them were several hundred years old and the Japanese on them was also and older form, so it was hard for me to read a lot of them lol. It was a really enjoyable experience though, so I'll upload some more photos tomorrow!

Ancient times 秋思祭

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Dancer from Kametsuruya Event 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Dancer from Kametsuruya Event 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Dancer from Kametsuruya Event 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Sennosuke Wakatsuki 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Dancer from Kametsuruya Event 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Sennosuke Wakatsuki 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L

Kabuki dance performance: Scene of the ceremony from the dressing room Dancer: Sennosuke Wakatsuki 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , Zeiss 50mm f1.4

Kabuki dance performance: from Renshi Dancer: Sennosuke Wakatsuki 2014 photo: ATZSHI HIRATZKA Canon 5d3 , 24-70mm f2.8 L