Back in Iwakuni

We've made a few resolutions for the new year and one of them includes taking trips every other week - even just day trips! It's too easy to stay in Iwakuni all the time and feel trapped when you're accustomed to being a short trip from a thriving metropolis. Anyway, we've been seeking out more day trips and enjoying the mild winter here.

We had a chance to check out the Otake Oyster Festival two weeks ago, but got a late start that Saturday morning. The festival was advertised as being held from 10am to 3pm, so we arrived at about 2pm hoping to catch the tail end. Well, we showed up and all the fried food was cold and every other vendor was packing up. The oysters had run out already! Lesson learned: show up early or on time even for Japanese festivals!

I think this is an interesting Japanese festival food. From what I understand (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!), these little white blobs over the fire pit are mashed sticky rice that is shaped into balls, skewered, and then roasted. I've seen colorful balls in the summertime, but just plain ones at this festival. Personally, I'm not a huge fan. They taste bland and somehow dry and too sticky at the same time. I'd recommend trying it once because it's a big Japanese tradition, but I've never been too thrilled with them.