Undou-kai (Sports Festival)

I got up with the Ishida family very early this morning to prepare for Momo’s Elementary School Sports Festival. This event has become a large part of Japanese culture and is a very grand affair. The events run from 9:00 in the morning until around 2:00 in the afternoon, and include relays and other games. The families of the students, often not only parents and siblings but aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, all come together to watch the event and cheer. The students’ mothers make incredible picnic lunches (Ishida-san included) that the whole family eats together during the lunch break. I helped to make some rice balls for the event, but otherwise just enjoyed the atmosphere and the beautiful sunny weather.