Saturday, I headed around lunch time for the Chiba prefecture. I met up with Arisa at the Chiba station, from which we went to Sodegaura, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Why were we off to there? Well, Arisa happened to have a concert there. At the local primary school, there is this festival being held every year. Last year, Arisa was invited to sing there, and due to her performing well, she was re-invited this year again. So she was off to perform, and I was off to watch.

We arrived well ahead of time, and as soon as we got off the train, I could tell this was what they call "the country" side, mainly filled with citizens and small businesses. We met a few other performers at the station, and headed to the festival. After walking for about 30 minutes under the hot sun, we made it to the school, where the festival's final preparations were taking place. We were given tea, and a place to sit. After about ten minutes, Arisa looked at me and told me her dad had come. Now I don't want to get into the details of their father and daughter relationship, but as her boyfriend, I felt slightly under pressure. We didn't speak much, he simply asked me if I could speak Japanese and if I was ok with the hot weather. I replied as politely as I could, and gave him a nice smile. A few minutes later, Arisa and the other two singers went up on stage to practice and sound check.

Once that was done, we were told we had to move. Haha, don't ask me why. We headed off to the gymnasium, which had washrooms and change rooms. I had been told by the manager not to enter, since the only room available to set our stuff was the ladies changing room but the ladies told me it was fine since it was just the four of us. I left the room while they changed and soon they were up on stage for their first performance. Arisa performed three songs, which I really enjoyed. The three were in Japanese, therefore I had fun trying to figure out the meaning of the lyrics. But what really surprised me was her presence on stage. After she was done, the two other ladies, which I found out formed a duo, performed their songs. Their singing was so-so, but they danced while they sang which added to their performance. Once they were done, Arisa changed out of her dress and we walked around the small festival area to grab some food.

While we ate, various performances were held on stage, one of which was a marching band, from the nearby middle school. This really blew me away for a couple reasons. First they were really good. Our high school band couldn't even play half as well as these kids sitting down on a chair. Second of all, all of them, at one point played the drums. Not only could they play their respective band instrument, but they also had learned to play the drums quite well I must say. As they marched and danced around, I could only scream out "SUGOI!" which means awesome or cool in Japanese. One of the melodies they performed was a medley of the Beauty and the Beast's famous soundtrack.

Now one downside of being there was that I felt slightly out of place. I was looked at by many with frowning faces. Since this was a small town, I can't blame them for not being used to seeing foreigners. And yes, I do stand out here. I think it's my eyes...

After about two hours, Arisa changed back into her dress and I waited in front of the stage. The politicians of the area had come to give speeches. That, as in any country, was quite boring, yet I tried my best to listen to what they were saying. Who knows, I might learn a few things. After that, they threw out 4,000 "mochi"s out to the crowd (Japanese snacks made out of packed rice and usually filled with something.) I caught one for myself as well as one for Arisa. I found out later they were quite un-tasteful, and I ended up not eating more than half of mine.

Next up, Arisa came back on stage, shining and full of energy. This time she sang two songs, one being the famous Let It Go from the movie Frozen. She sang the Japanese version, which was a very popular song amongst the kids of the whole country. I watched her sing her heart out while the eyes of many kids gleamed out as they watched in silence.


We left soon after she was done. I really did enjoy this experience. I got to see an authentic small festival, visit a new place I hadn't been to yet which is something I can't do on a regular basis.