Cruise Report

 

It is the height of summer on the sea!!

While we sweat a lot even we wear short sleeves, the summer festival has been held onboard!!

At the beginning, Japanese Drum called “Kokura Gion Daiko” echos on the deck.

 

 

Part 1

There were exciting games; speed-eating of shaved ice, arm-wrestling and so on. Nobody cares about the age nor nationality, but the game goes on. Audience on the deck cheers with excitement!

 

 

There are also a Japanese Lion dance called “Shishimai” performance and a fashion show showing the costumes from around the world.

It is fun to see and a gorgeous summer festival to remember.

There are vendors which sell Japanese custom summer festival foods like Cotton candy “Wataame” and shaved ice “Kakigori”, as well as foods from other countries such as Malaysian food, “Sate”. The international menu is what Peace Boat would serve .

People walking on the deck in “Yukata” holding a fan called “Uchiwa” in one hand and a Cotton candy “Wataame” on the other, are looking gorgeous.

Some young passengers say “This is my first time wearing Yukata!!” or “It is my first time to wear a make up!!”

Everybody there seems happy.

 

 

Part 1 has ended with Japanese Dance; Soran-Bushi. The dancers have practiced the dance everyday. It is so powerful.

 

 

Part 2 has begun after the sunset. A member of Caracus citizen orchestra walks the deck in Samba Carnival costume, playing Latin music.

 

 

The band teams from different countries play music and dance, which warms up the summer night.

 

 

Fire works, one of the feature of Japanese summer festival is shown on the big screen with big sounds! Although it is not a real one, it is enough to set the mood for the festival!!

 

 

Lastly, we danced Japanese traditional dance, Bon-odori. We try to copy the dance from those who go to the festival well. We play not only Japanese dance music, but also Asian dance music! “Put your hands up! And put your hands down in 1! 2! 3!! ” We hear different languages, and we follow and copy the movement of those who know the dance. Before we know the music and dance become one big wave, and swallow the deck.

 

It took us long time to prepare this event. After the festival, some people cried and hugged each other. Some people who have worked as members of event staff show great smile on their faces. Many people said “It was a great festival!” , and a fulfilling day of summer had ended.