Sado

Oh my gosh. How do I even begin to describe the weekend that was the Sado Earth Celebration? Well, here's some background. The Earth Celebration was begun by a Taiko (traditional Japanese drumming) group called Kodo some 20 years ago. Kodo live in a special village on Sado island, which is in the Japan Sea off the coast of Niigata. They travel to perform but the Earth Celebration is their main event every year. It is supposed to be a time both for increased awareness of our relationship to the earth and to other cultures. To this end, every year Kodo invites a different musical group to come and share the stage with them at the celebration. Kodo does a solo performance Friday night, the visitor is alone Saturday night, and they come together Sunday night. Kodo even goes so far as to send a representative to practice with the visitor before the celebration in order to get a better feel for their musical style. 

This year's guest was Olodum, a Brazilian samba-reggae group that also does community work in Brazil. It turns out there are quite a few people of Japanese descent in Brazil and of Brazilian descent living on Sado, so the turnout was quite large. 

The main site of the festival is Ogi port, which faces Niigata. At the harbor there is a large market with booths selling international food and clothing. Throughout the weekend I had Mexican food, Thai food, and Nepali food. Also, I was shocked at one point to hear the sounds of Ithaca's own Sim Redmond Band playing over the loudspeakers at the market. 

The main concert every night is held in a park in a forested area. The only way to get there is to walk up a very steep stone road along which painted paper lanterns are hung from trees. It's quite magical because you walk up into the forest with the cicadas going crazy all around you. 

So, on Friday afternoon I took a ferry from Niigata to Sado. It took 2 hours and only cost about $24. It's laid out very different from an American ferry - there's a large carpeted space for people to sleep and have a picnic. Most people sleep. Of course, I slept. 

Daphne and I arrived in Sado on Friday and stayed until Monday morning, the longest of anyone else I know. We were exhausted by the end of the weekend, but it was completely worth it. Kodo is amazing, and I am in awe of anyone who can do Taiko. Also, I was able to shake it to Brazilian music all weekend long, which made me unbelievably happy (and a little sore). 

My new friends and I camped on the beach, which was good for sunsets and night swims but bad because it started raining Saturday, and sleeping in wet sand is really no fun. 

Luckily, we were able to rewarm our cold, soggy bodies by a trip to an onsen (my first!). For about $7 we were able to go for a dip in a ridiculously warm pool of water overlooking the Ogi harbor. Yes, one of the walls was a giant window. Afterwards we fell asleep in the 'waiting room' which is basically a giant room covered in tatami mats with cushions for sleeping. It was heavenly, and a great way to end an already wonderful weekend.

One note - we weren't allowed to take pictures during the performances, so I don't have any of those!