Prazer Gifu
So, continuing the summer vacation trips, On August 25th and 26th there was the "traditional" Gifu BBQ. Most known by the Portuguese name of "Churrascada de Gifu" (although the official name of the event became "Prazer Gifu").
The rendezvous point was Gifu station. Not so far from Kyoto, although I had some problems because I scheduled myself looking at timetables for weekdays, and it was a Saturday. "Baka Gaijin" strikes again, but nothing I wasn't used to.
Still, I was surprised to see some known faces... especially some I know from my hometown in Brazil (Londrina) and didn't know that were in Japan; and some I've met two years ago, while living in Himeji. Nice surprise right at the beginning.
Nice reception, too. There was an association backing the event... I know its name only in Portuguese, though (Associação Nipo-Brasileira de Gifu). They and the Brazilian exchange student in Gifu (Fê) did a great job. As we arrived at Entokuji (a temple), there was a Japanese lyric presentation... I forgot the name of the lady, but I remember that she was all in for the other activity that followed:
Samba and forro. So obvious that there would be an event where the Brazilian students teach the Japanese people there some samba... Not my speciality, though. Even so, I have to admit that I was missing some forro... Weird, huh? But I found out that I'm a little rusty...
They also lend some yukata for us to wear! Nice! After that, to the BBQ! Although I can't say that I was missing Brazilian style BBQ (check Shirahama post, for example), it's always great! In my humble opinion, better than Japanese "yakiniku"...
An observation: since most Brazilians were wearing yukata, there was an unusual situation during the BBQ, where most Japanese people were dressed "normally" and most Brazilians were in yukata... Haha!
During the BBQ there were other presentations. One I think it's based on a tale of a avaricious man... It was funny, especially because of the actor himself.
After, some belly dance presentation. The funniest part was when they invited some people to dance with them... Why only men were there?? Hah! Pure laughs...
We still had time to some bon odori (and Matsuri Dance) before going to the Nagara river to see some cormorant fishing. We couldn't see it well, but it's pretty interesting. They use fire to attract the fish, so the cormorants catch them. The "ducks" are avoided to swallow the fish because they have rings around their necks. After, they regurgitate their catch to the fisher.
As we went there and to the public bath by bus, I can only imagine the despair of the bus driver and other passengers as a large group of noisy foreigners invaded the bus... Or even in the public bath.
The night wasn't over yet as some spent almost the whole night playing "Mafia" game. I was tired, so I wasn't in that group...
Next day, going up all the way to the Gifu Castle. Some went up by cable car, others climbed their way up. I was in the former group, especially because I spent part of the morning running from some kids... For those who know me while I practiced judo, just remember how some kids used to try to pile on me. It was exactly like that, except that now my physical endurance is in a worse condition...
Although the castle itself isn't impressing (especially for someone who have lived in Himeji), the view from there is nice.
After that, some of us still went to the house of the Brazilian exchange student in Gifu (a huge one for Japanese standards...) to chat and play cards before leaving Gifu...
An excellent time with very nice people. AND with BBQ! What else one needs for a weekend?
There are also posts at the b2007 site and at celsosakuraba's photo log. Both in Portuguese, but with more pictures.
The rendezvous point was Gifu station. Not so far from Kyoto, although I had some problems because I scheduled myself looking at timetables for weekdays, and it was a Saturday. "Baka Gaijin" strikes again, but nothing I wasn't used to.
Still, I was surprised to see some known faces... especially some I know from my hometown in Brazil (Londrina) and didn't know that were in Japan; and some I've met two years ago, while living in Himeji. Nice surprise right at the beginning.
Nice reception, too. There was an association backing the event... I know its name only in Portuguese, though (Associação Nipo-Brasileira de Gifu). They and the Brazilian exchange student in Gifu (Fê) did a great job. As we arrived at Entokuji (a temple), there was a Japanese lyric presentation... I forgot the name of the lady, but I remember that she was all in for the other activity that followed:
Samba and forro. So obvious that there would be an event where the Brazilian students teach the Japanese people there some samba... Not my speciality, though. Even so, I have to admit that I was missing some forro... Weird, huh? But I found out that I'm a little rusty...
They also lend some yukata for us to wear! Nice! After that, to the BBQ! Although I can't say that I was missing Brazilian style BBQ (check Shirahama post, for example), it's always great! In my humble opinion, better than Japanese "yakiniku"...
An observation: since most Brazilians were wearing yukata, there was an unusual situation during the BBQ, where most Japanese people were dressed "normally" and most Brazilians were in yukata... Haha!
During the BBQ there were other presentations. One I think it's based on a tale of a avaricious man... It was funny, especially because of the actor himself.
After, some belly dance presentation. The funniest part was when they invited some people to dance with them... Why only men were there?? Hah! Pure laughs...
We still had time to some bon odori (and Matsuri Dance) before going to the Nagara river to see some cormorant fishing. We couldn't see it well, but it's pretty interesting. They use fire to attract the fish, so the cormorants catch them. The "ducks" are avoided to swallow the fish because they have rings around their necks. After, they regurgitate their catch to the fisher.
As we went there and to the public bath by bus, I can only imagine the despair of the bus driver and other passengers as a large group of noisy foreigners invaded the bus... Or even in the public bath.
The night wasn't over yet as some spent almost the whole night playing "Mafia" game. I was tired, so I wasn't in that group...
Next day, going up all the way to the Gifu Castle. Some went up by cable car, others climbed their way up. I was in the former group, especially because I spent part of the morning running from some kids... For those who know me while I practiced judo, just remember how some kids used to try to pile on me. It was exactly like that, except that now my physical endurance is in a worse condition...
Although the castle itself isn't impressing (especially for someone who have lived in Himeji), the view from there is nice.
After that, some of us still went to the house of the Brazilian exchange student in Gifu (a huge one for Japanese standards...) to chat and play cards before leaving Gifu...
An excellent time with very nice people. AND with BBQ! What else one needs for a weekend?
There are also posts at the b2007 site and at celsosakuraba's photo log. Both in Portuguese, but with more pictures.
2 comments:
BBQ!! That´s something I´m really missing here... you know, the meat here is sold with a lot of different kind of sauces. Of course you can buy fresh meat, but at BBQ you MUST have some sauce. That´s something typical from Germany. It´s not like ours "meat and salt" BBQ... hehheh and I still miss it...
I know what you mean... Japanese "yakiniku" (that's not really BBQ for me) is done that way too.
Maybe you'll recognize the situation in this article:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070901cz.html
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