Heso Matsuri, Hey!

So, I have to begin with important information. I will not be in Japan starting tomorrow. I will be in another place. I will leave exactly where as a secret for now. Anyway, I'll be in California starting on the 13th of August. Sorry about the late notice, but plans came together rather last minute.

So on to a very quick account of my recent activities. Jeff is leaving Japan, so we went on one last trip. To Kusatsu.
And this time, for the first time I tried the Kusatsu baths. Over 45 degrees C with a PH of 1.5! Boiling acid basically. It hurt very badly at the time, but felt really good when the pain went away two hours later.
And here I am at the Heso Matsuri, the big festival that my town puts on once a year. Shibukawa is the belly button of Japan, so lots of people get faces painted on their chest and dance down the street.
Showing here. I got a kappa.
I danced with a large group of foreigners, and got interviewed by the TV News.
See, the mouth is supposed to be the belly button, then you put this hat on and it should look like really short person.
When a really short person actually puts on the hat, there isn't much left.
Here I am dancing. Now why is this fun? Well, I thought it was cool to go dancing down the street with a Kappa on my face, but most of the other people were having fun because of the beer, which is supplied by the city and is consumed frequently furring the dance. However, no one informed my that the parade that we were in would go on for 2 hours. Very sore today.
And here is Shibukawa, the belly button of Japan.
Alright, sorry for the rushed blog entry, but I really have to go get packed.