It's That Time of Year

I suppose with a title like that there might be someone who will think this post will be about cherry blossom viewing in Japan.  Sorry to disappoint but that isn't the case.  This past winter's snow has just started to melt off and while most sidewalks are now clear, thanks to residents shoveling away the last bit recently, there's plenty of it left elsewhere.  Plus we don't expect to see cherry blossoms around here until well into April.  No, the title comes from a comment made at a "live bar", a bar with a stage where a band can squeeze onto, that I visited last Saturday evening.  That night's show was "Acoustic Night" and the last act to take to the stage was a one man act.  I didn't catch the guy's name but he was a bit of a sight to be seen.  A relatively tall fellow dressed in black jeans and T-shirt with a bright red jacket.  If I recall correctly he might have had a thin mustache.  But his hair was unforgettable: he had used plenty of hair gel to get it all standing on end so that it was part lion mane and part Sid Vicious.  Toss in the acoustic guitar and you have the makings of...something.

Anyways, at the end of his set this fellow announced that he'd like the audience to join in and sing along with him.  I have no idea what the title of the final song was but the singer made sure everyone knew what it was about.  "It's that time of year", he said, "It's graduation time...".  So naturally his selected song was about parting ways and looking towards the future.  And yes, the audience, including myself, did sing along with the acoustic guitar wielding punk.

Next day I didn't have any plans in particular.  Around noon the idea of heading up to Yamagata city to do some shopping popped into my head.  So I checked the train schedule, had a bite to eat, took a shower, and then found out I didn't have enough time to walk to station to make the 1:45 train.  So I drove down to Max Value supermarket close to the station and walked over to it.

When the train I was on arrived in Takahata a number of high school students boarded it.  I noticed corsages and boutonnieres being worn by some of the students.  The comment from the previous evening popped into my head.  Indeed, it's graduation season.  Most of those students got off a few stations up the line.  One girl got off the train and stood around on the platform to wave goodbye to her friends still on board like it was the last she was going to see of them.  Then a fresh batch of new graduates boarded a stop of two later.  Most of them traveled on to the train's last stop which was Yamagata.

Once I got past the ticket turnstiles at Yamagata station I passed by groups of students once again sporting corsages and boutonnieres.  Outside there was hardly any snow to be seen.  The air wasn't too cool either.  One could have imagined that spring was just around the corner waiting to make its entrance.  Alas, a few days later back in Yonezawa, it snowed again....

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Post script: I picked up a sushi bento at the Max Value supermarket on the way home.  I picked one which had been discounted by ¥200.  I didn't notice until when I had gotten to the self-serve checkout that the "inari sushi", sushi stuffed into little pouches made from deep fried tofu, had Hello Kitty faces on them.  I took a picture of them and sent the photo to my sister and second cousin back in Vancouver.  On Tuesday I showed the picture during my evening class to the junior high school student in attendance (she being the one whose teacher had said her English pronunciation was too good).  She chuckled and said "It's Hinamatsuri sushi".  "It was on sale by ¥200", I fired back defensively.  Nonetheless, she still thought it was silly.  After all, in English, Hinamatsuri is "Doll's Festival" or "Girl's Festival"....