Earthquake over holiday weekend

There was a rather big 'jishin' (earthquake) in the Niigata prefecture the other day that I am sure many of you know about since it was covered by the world news agencies. Although it didn't affect Tokyo, I felt 2 of the 3 shocks for sure. Its really an erie feeling, one I am not used to yet. There was a lot of damage and I think 9 people or so lost their lives. There also was a leak at the largest nuclear power plant in Japan, which is located in that area. Some water leaked into the sea and it was contained, although some talks of late reporting and covering up are circulating. This event coupled with the Typhoon that came through made it an especially hard weekend for many.

Monday was a national holiday and I went to a matsuri (festival) called 'Mitama matsuri' at Yasukuni Shrine. This is the famous shrine where Japan's war dead are buried/honored. The festival was fun and there were many delicious foods, similar to carnival foods we enjoy at that time in the states (popcorn, cotton candy, etc..). I enjoyed some takoyaki (grilled octopus skewers) and satsumaimo (sweet potato sticks) with sugar on them. The one thing i didnt care for was the 'monster show' which is akin to a freak show that we have at carnivals in the US. I didn't know I would be seeing a lady bite the head off a live snake and then drink its blood. Pretty gruesome and kind of shocking considering the venue (a very holy place in Japanese culture). I could have done without seeing that and i WON'T be posting the picture my friend took of it. One part of the event that was cool was the lighting of 1000 tiny lanterns (pic below). There was also some traditional odori (dancing) and songs. I had a good time and it was a nice break.