jigoku matsuri

last saturday, we hopped on the train for an hour's ride to noboribetsu onsen, home of the famous jigoku matsuri [hell festival]. there we hiked through "hell valley" - a desolate landscape of red and white rock nestled among the mountains, replete with sulfurous rivers and steam rising from hot pits. after an hours walk through the forest, we arrived at the ashiyu, a cascading stream of hot mineral water, where we soaked our feet.

as we arrived back in noboribetsu town, the festivities were ramping up. the streets were crowded with food stalls serving all manner of treats on sticks - grilled corn, whole fried ribbon-cut potatoes, fresh squid and octopus, and chocolate covered bananas - as well as dumplings, yakisoba noodles, and okonomiyake [savory cabbage pancakes]. food heaven! we opted for two beers and two bowls of crab nabe, a hot stew of potato, crab legs, corn, and scallions in a miso broth. surprisingly, chopsticks are the perfect tool for fishing crab meat out of its shell!

shortly after, we were called out to the street by the sound of taiko drumming. there the entire village, buoyed by a throng of tourists, gathered to watch as the oni mikoshi [portable shrines containing demons] were paraded through the streets. these demons are said to be the keepers of the hot springs in the valley, released during the jigoku matsuri for a night of celebration. following the ceremony and a taiko performance by drummers from far-reaching japanese prefectures, the oni odori commenced - villagers dressed as geisha, samurai, butoh dancers, animé, french maids, pumpkins, sea algae, the evil eye and more, danced in traditional procession through the streets. we donned our paper demon masks and joined them until the last train left for sapporo.