Today was the Official Opening of the Pools day, so after our Viking breakfast we headed down to beat the rush. A Viking, by the way, pronounced Biking, is an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet - so I had a goodly sized three-stage breakfast with lunch in mind mixture of sausages, fruit, miso soup, fish, croissants, kameboko fish cakes etc etc.
9 a.m. and we are in the main advance party to the pools, the rest of which consisted of 50 or so scantily clad 19 year olds, a half dozen of whom were in knee-length leather boots. It turned out that this event was being filmed as some kind of promotion/news item, including from an overhead helicopter, and before we could get wet we had to experience a boy band J-rapping on the diving platform, while rent-a-mob screaming girls waved ecstatically, followed by a J-Spice Girl outfit, they of the knee length boots, gyrating and crooning - I have to say that the girls got my vote.
When we finally got in, I was almost immediately told by one of the several hundred lifeguards watching our every move that I couldn't swim in my glasses, as this was dangerous. I thought about pointing out that a partially blind middle-aged swimmer might be more of a health hazard, but decided against it. I was then persuaded to go down a very high, and to my mind dangerous, water chute/tube thing, which woke me up no end, and thence into a simulated surfing chute-jobby, which was without a doubt far more dangerous than me and my glasses could ever be.
We moved on to a simulated wave pool surrounded by large rounded rocks, one of which I sat on to admire the waves. I was immediately told by a lifeguard that sitting on the rocks was dangerous, as I might slip off, and could I therefore move immediately, please, sumimasen.
Spent the afternoon whizzing about the bay in a dinghy, clambering over dangerous rocks, and generally frolicking in a hazardously liberated manner. Came across a small rocky inlet out on the island in the bay, full of killer puffer fish, fugu, swimming ecstatically in circles in what looked like milk. Was informed later that today is the one day a year that these little chaps meet up for sex. Which brings to mind the Tanabata Star Festival in Hiratsuka, which I passed through last night. Up to 3 million people (that can't be true) gather in Hiratsuka over a 4 day period, many dressed in summer kimono, and the guys in yukata (light cotton dressing gowns, type thing). The streets are full of various kinds of food stalls, and the tanabata decorated bamboo are everywhere.
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"Tanabata (七夕), meaning "Evening of the seventh", is a Japanese star festival, derived from the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi (七夕 "The Night of Sevens")．
It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. Since the stars come out at night, the celebration is held at night."
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"Tanabata was inspired by the famous Chinese folklore, The Princess and the Cowherd.
Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess) the daughter of the Tentei (天帝, Sky King, or the universe itself) wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Milky Way (天の川 Amanogawa). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, she was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tenkou arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star) sometimes called Kengyuu (牽牛, Chinese name of Hikoboshi) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa River. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and were shortly married. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tenkou and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tenkou separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tenkou was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. If it rains, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait till next year."
Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess) the daughter of the Tentei (天帝, Sky King, or the universe itself) wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Milky Way (天の川 Amanogawa). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, she was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tenkou arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star) sometimes called Kengyuu (牽牛, Chinese name of Hikoboshi) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa River. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and were shortly married. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tenkou and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tenkou separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tenkou was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. If it rains, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait till next year."
(Wikipedia)
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Ended up in a bamboo beach bar, with pretty waitresses and hazardous fireworks going off around us.
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Starting to empathise with puffer fish and a couple of stars up there, big time.
