In tahara festival, each participant from community, students, and fire fighter etc wear costume and parade within the town square. Some also do performances.
The third week after I come to Japan, I participate in my third festival (and my third typhoon). This festival is held in Tahara city, the next city from Toyohashi. It is only 30 minutes by bus. Our Indonesian team are picked up by the committee from campus, depart at 08.20 o’clock. The committee gives us Toyohashi university student a total of 10 people quota for this festival. Indonesian students fill them all. But then we negotiate it for 15 people, also for Indonesian. But, 18 people participate eventually.
Each participant is tasked to store the Indonesian traditional clothing clean it up right after the Gikadaisai last week. I have the honor to wear the wedding costume from Minang. Right after arriving to Tahara, there are already crowds in the street. Immediately we were told to change into costume and go to the street.
Japanese has so many festival and each city own unique festival. The standard question then is.
What kind of festival it?
In a word: parade.
The official name of the festival is as below, meaning Tahara folk festival or Tahara citizen festival.
It is quite similar from the Toyohashi Festival where we danced in the night. But here is not night, and do not dance. The participant will parade through the city wearing their own uniform and performance. It includes local students from primary school to high school, us – the international students from TUT, other international contingent, local community, local business, fire fighter, etc. So many people participates.
We parade from our bus parking lot until the town square. We parade, so that means on foot. Well, not for the fire fighter truck.
We parade almost in the last of the parade line. But right in front of the fire fighters. On the day, we were sent a very good weather, even though the typhoon struct yesterday. However, the wind is still quite strong and chilly. It should be noted that we are not wearing jacket. Well, because we wear the traditional cloth!
As I mention, I wear the groom costume of the Minang Wedding Costume. Well, when there is a groom, there is a bride. Well, here are list of photos at the wedding parade.
Printed flag 
The vanguard of the parade 
Shobosha: Akakute, kawai… 
Baseball team from the tahara local school 
MUSHROOM monsteeer! 
Us and our kids 
Our starting point 
Team in front of us 
Standing by 
No comment… 
Front most 
The kids also perform 
Other kid group in the parade 
The red one are the leader of this parading group 
Tahara city international division 
Indonesian Parading 
Preparation before dance performance 
Korea (kanan), Jepang (kiri),
Like I said, every teams and delegations have their own costume and performance. Some are monsters. Cute monsters.
Oh by the way, in the middle of the parade, the lines stop in a crossroad. Some children from local school performs in the crossroad. I do not understand most of the performance though. Because some of the kids perform by speaking something like self introduction, poem, public speaking or something. Some kids also show off their drawing and musical performance.
Young but Expert at Marching Band 
Stage for kids 
Rebana Dance, or something similar 
Sea of people watching 
From the side 
Coool, not sure what though 
School introduction 
Colabs with pro, video below
And here is the panorama of the performance in the folk festival.
I also record some of the performance in the festival. As follow.
This one, I am not sure what are they doing. Do you know?
And here is collaboration between Marching Band of Primary School Student and Professional Marching Band. Super cool… They are so good!
Oh, one funny comment that I got from the festival is from some auntie visitors regarding my cloth. She was quite curious about the clothing, what kind it is, why is it so glamorious, oh for kekkonshiki (wedding), from which country and region, wait, is the crown heavy? 2 kilograms??
And the funniest comment is:
Anatatachi wa fufu?
Are you guys a couple? And of course I answer with.
Aa, chigaimasu.
No mam, of course not. And they are doubling down.
Sugu kekkonsuru no? Jya, nande futari wa kono fuku erabuno?
Then, will you marry soon. Why do you two chose to wear the cloth?
Which of course our friends made fun of use without ends after that.
Eetttooo… Tama-tama desu…
Ummm… It was just a coincidence..
With Miss Tahara? 
Parading but know where the camera is 
Shippasu suru zo! 
Right after changing into the costume 
In front of IAD Tahara, right before going home
At 1 o’lock in the afternoon, the festival ends. We change costume back into plain cloth in the International Affairs Division of Tahara City government.
As a final words, this festival is so satisfying. Just like the festival I attended before. Ah.. I want to visit other Japanese festivals…
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