Outdoor Venues

Today, on this rainy Saturday, June 9, 2012 our host Shigeko Okano took Yayoi and I to a neighbouring community to see an Iris Festival or 'Matsuri'. Inevitably these events have numerous booths set up to sell edible items and in this case plants as well, especially irises.
Some things I just can't resist. As the ladies wandered off to the ladies room I set off for the 'ika' booth. This is a squid which is roasted as you watch and is basted with a special sauce. I paid for it and went to the little boys room. Afterwards I eventually spotted two people, one of whom I know cannot resist a yellow cylinder of which only the outer layer of kernels is edible. Yes, corn on the cob is already available here. They were nice enough to order another cob for me. In the same booth, I spotted another hard to resist item. This was wrapped in a traditional 'omiyagi' style and consisted of 'mochi manju' or special pounded rice in a small bun shape with azuki bean paste inside and either amber or black sesame seeds stuck to the outer surface. Well, one for us and one for the Okano's. The wrapper as seen in the photograph is a prelude to the next two blogs.