TonDon Festival on Oyujima Island

Yesterday, I braved the strong, cold and heartless wind to go to Oyujima Island for their TonDon Festival (I would call it the Fire Festival). It was really freezing cold (especially after the 30 min snow on Saturday, the temperature in Saiki dropped quite a bit. Usually, Saiki don't snow, but according to the teachers, this year is much colder than previous years.) with the strong wind blowing non-stop. However, the festival was worth it. We went as a group of 7 Gaijins and 1 Japanese and the TV station people can't help but film us as and when they see us. Once we reached Oyujima Island, we went for the 100yen Gomadashi Udon. It was cheap and good and of course most importantly, the hot soup warmed us up a little. We had to stand near the temporary fireplace to keep warm.



Purifying procession 



Priest stirring the cauldron

Unfortunately, there was no fireplace near the stage or the ceremony. I cuddled up with my friends for some warmth and waited for the Taiko performance by the elementary school pupils to start (There are only 15 of them), followed by a few ceremonies and prayers by the priests (1 of which included the 3 Junior High students on the island). The most interesting ceremony was performed by one of the priest. He would be holding on to 2 bunches of leaves and he would dip the leaves into the boiling water and go around hitting people's head to get rid of their bad thoughts. We were not spared from the "hitting".

  

Later, there were hanabi (fireworks)! It was short but beautiful. Some of the hanabis were designed by the students studying on Oyujima Island and it was the first time they had hanabi for this festival. 

短暂的美丽，永恒的回忆。

The finale was the burning of a tall tower. People would put the amulets or charms from last year at the bottom of the tower and set the tower on fire.

  

Before burning...



Burning...



Engulfed by the smoke!

After all these, I was already frozen. My toes were numb and my nose was red. We quickly went to queue for the boat ride back to mainland.

Oyujima Island reminded me of Pulau Ubin. I will be back in Spring or Summer to cycle around and truly enjoy the nature out there. It will definitely not be in the Winter, it's just toooo cold for me. I am also looking forward to more festivals in Saiki!!!