"What's their hurry?" I asked one of the teachers from Melba's school. She happened to be walking by. An eight-year veteran of Yokosuka would know.
"Pizza," she said. "They all want the pizza."
"Pizza?" I asked. "What's the deal with pizza?" I'd had the pizza at the Food Court and I'd tasted better. I couldn't understand.
"What's so special about the pizza?" I asked again. It didn't make sense. "They have plenty of pizza joints in the city," I added.
"It's just cheaper here," she explained. "It's more expensive in town."
It was amazing how saving a few Yen could drive hundreds of people like that, but soon the area in front of the Food Court looked like a Sarah Palin rally, only this bunch was carrying napkins instead of placards.
At noontime, the mikoshi parade began. It had already made its run down the streets of Yokosuka that morning and had now filed through the base gate to reach its starting point at the start of Clement Boulevard. Soon we began to hear loud chants, drums, bells, and flutes. We learned that a mikoshi is a sacred boxlike litter in which the image of the local Shinto kami (god) is carried by poles on the shoulders of several men, and sometimes women. Led by a chanting Shinto priest, the mikoshi, one of about thirty in the parade, made its way up the street all the while being rocked and rolled along the route to the beat of pounding drums and melodic Krishna flutes..., and chanting, lots and lots of chanting, almost hypnotic. It had a pep rally quality to it. This kami had spirit... how 'bout you?
Some of the mikoshi resembled a miniature building, with pillars, walls, a roof, a veranda and railing. It was all very noisy and colorful just like a parade back in the States, but no one was tossing candy out to the kids lined along the route. The Japanese don't toss anything out onto their streets. What they did offer was lots of exuberance. The parade participants were real worked up. This procession had energy.
Depending one the size of the mikoshi the whole thing is supported on two or four poles. It is magnificently decorated and sports a Phoenix-like figure on the peak of its roof. There is so much I don't know about this culture.
Everyone was decked up in costumes and all seemed to be having a great time huffing, puffing, grunting, chanting and whooping. It was almost competitive in nature. Who could show the most zeal.
If it was fervent pride that wished to display they were successful. I should have taken more pictures of the Japanese people in the crowds. They are such good and neat dressers. I didn't lay eyes on one single slob. You just have to admire the care they take in their personal appearance. This attention to dress extents from the young to the old.
I lost count of how many mikoshi went by, but it was more than thirty. These people were all smiles. They were really having a good time. After the parade they lined up for food and spread out picnic style under the trees. It looked like an Easter Sunday outing, all very pleasant.
Don't forget the beer. After the parade it's all about food and drink, lots of it. The best-selling adult beverages were Budweiser and Heineken. Imagine that, consumption of beer, out in the open, on a navy base. Chalk it up to good and effective PR.
