Neighborhood Hirakata

       I have been living in Hirakata for almost 2 years. I moved here from my hometown to go to Kansai Gaidai but I did know nothing about Hirakata before I came here though I had abstract image about Osaka as crowded, cheerful, friendly, and sometimes harsh. But I realized those stereotypical images only fit to big cities in Osaka not Hirakata city. I like Hirakata for two reasons. First I can go to both some big cities in Osaka and lovely cities in Kyoto. Next reason is the quiet environment with lot of nature and pretty residential area. Though I am a Japanese student I have lived in the dorm for the international students since last semester. I used to live in an apartment in Hirakata before but I like the neighborhood better now.

This is near the place I used to live.

        On Saturday it was sunny and warm in the morning so that I decided to go for a walk with my camera.

        1 minute after I left the dorm I saw a lady who was carrying a dog walking towards me. She was smiling and said “お散歩？”(Are you going for a walk?) and I said yes. Then I realized that was a lady living in front of the dorm and that was my first time that I talked to her though I have lived in the dorm for over 6 months.

Right: The way to the supermarket

Left: The way to school

        Next neighbor that I met was this guy :)

        He showed up suddenly from the corner and seemed really happy. I whistled to get his attention but he was really excited about the spring weather and having no leash or owner.

        

        I was walking as I go to school everyday but this time was not to go to school but to see and take picture of the neighborhood. I found many things that I do not notice usually and felt I was seeing some new things with different aspects.

Recommendations about Japan

    There are many beautiful places and exciting entertainments in Japan that I want to recommend for foreigners. You might find it hard to decide what to experience first in Japan, but the cultural and traditional events never disappointed you.

    I want to recommend two exciting events in Kyushu where is the southern island of Japan since I am from there.

First event is called "Karatsu Kunchi".

     This event has started since 1661. The event is held for three days and there will be 14 floats are brought out to the town of Karatsu in Saga prefecture. 

    Those floats are cultural assets of the prefecture and each area inside of Karatsu city have their own floats and bring them with saying “エンヤーエンヤー(enn-ya, enn-ya)”. About 500,000 people are coming to the event every year to see the dynamic floats with energetic Karatsu citizens.

Here is the website of Karatsu Kunchi festival.

Next event is “Saga International Balloon fiesta”. 

        This is a relatively new cultural event in Saga prefecture compare to Karatsu Kunchi. The event has started since 1978 and it is held in Saga prefecture in November. This is the official Balloon competition so that many crews from all around the world come to Saga prefecture to compete. They do not only compete but also they entertain audiences by lighting up their balloon at night.

Here is the website for 2011 Saga International Balloon Festival.

    Even though Saga is a small prefecture there are many exciting events and you will be definitely enjoy the beauty of nature as well.

(Image from here)