7 min read February 22, 2025 at 2:11pm
I've been in Sendai for almost 2 months - working for accomodation in a KIKO hostel (sending big hugs to all the people I met and worked with in that place!).
The hostel was known for its "global meets local" slogan and, as I quickly learned, it lived up to its name, hositng various cultural events and attracting interesting opportunties.
Trying Yabusame
A-san: Okay, so you will work for 2 hours daily in exchange for free accomodation. Is that okay?
U: Yes, that sounds great!
A-san: Cool. By the, way, have you heard of yabusame?
U: ...?
A-san: It's archery on a horse.
U: Yes...?
A-san: Would you like to try? We are looking for a foreigners to join the festival in November.
U: Y-y-y-yes!!!
And that is how I ended up not only getting a free accommodation in Sendai, but also was able to try myself in the art of yabusame - even before getting there.
The festival took place in Rifu, small town near Sendai. We went there together as a team of 5 contestants from various countries, to get some training before the real thing, along with others teams of amateurs - mostly Japanese highschoolers. All of us were supposed to entertain the public after the main show has ended, during the time when scores for the professionals were being calculated.
The training itself was... really short.
We got 15 minutes to learn how to shoot arrows from a huge bow, and then another 15 minutes for getting accustomed to riding on a horse.
And the bow part was a tricky one. Since non of our highschoolers guides spoke English, we relied on their short visual demonstration only. In practice, it was a little diseaster - docking the arrow was the most difficult part, as I found I had the most trouble with getting the arrows properly stay in the right spot... something I couldn't really practise more, because the training was already over.
But it was time for the horses!
Fortunately, the horses were rather small (native Japanese breed) and they were all guided by the professionals. Given the walking speed of a horse and its size, I can describe it as a pleasant ride.
Then, we got another short round of training with bows. After that, finally, we got to shoot some arrows from a top of a horse.
"Some" being two. Again, not much time to practise. What if we got too good and accidentally better than the professionals? Gasp!
I was afraid that the shaking cased by a moving animal would be problematic - which for sure is the case when the horse is in the gallop - but for us, absolute beginners, the disturbance caused by a walking speed was minimal, and did little to the aiming precision.
And next day, we were supposed to do it all again, but in the front of public and cameras.
Cool!
But the day hasn't ended yet. We got to eat a lunch and explore a bit of a Rifu - a beautiful shrine and Umanose, goregous land formation said to be a “natural pier” and measuring 250 meters.
View from Umanose to the land. This passage was one person wide!
In the evening, there was a reception party - all the amateur and professional teams were present. Over food and drinks, we discussed our experiences and life in Japan. I also got to wear a proper armour (and had to say a few things on a stage, which was way too embarrassing with my non-existent level of Japanese).
Exhausted after a whole day of training, exploring and socialising, I went back to the hostel...
And the next morning, the day of a festival came.
I spend most of the time taking advantage of the best place to photograph professional yabusame participants in action I could possibly imagine - one of the perks of being a contestant myself.
But then, it was our turn.
They put us in a festive clothings and the showtime started!
We all had to make 2 rounds, shooting 2 arrows in each. First target was positioned pretty close, second one was a bit further.
Aaand...
Bam!
4/4!
Splendid!
Amazing!
What a prodigy!
How fortunous!
Sorry, I don't have better photos </3
Or at least, that's written on my diploma. In reality, I nailed the first three, but the last arrow stuck in my bow and I wasn't able to properly shoot it, much less hit the target. Why was the 4/4 on my diploma will remain a mystery - but I've seen other participants having not too accurate scores on their own summeries as well.
But, officially, I hit them all. That's on paper. Whoever have a problem with that, can deal with Japanese officials.
We all got a 3kg of a local rice for our involvement (love the practicality!) and the organisers thanked and bowed to all the amateurs, which once again reminded me about the overwhelming hospitality of a Japanese people.
It surprised me that after the closing ceremony was over, it really... was over. No afterpaty, no prolonged goodbyes, no staying around and chatting until late.
We did the thing, now bye!
Spot in a Japanese morning TV
One day, my hostel coworker asked me if I want to be in a morning TV.
Duh!
But the plan was... not simple?
All I knew is that I, along with two other people (a girl from Sweden and a girl from Slovenia - both of them living in a hostel on the same terms as me, that is work for accommodation) were supposed to walk around Matsushima with a TV crew. But all the details they gave was a bit weird, and changing every time I heard about our plans.
At one point, I heard that we are suppose to guide a bunch of preschooled kids around the small islands.
....Sorry, what?!
Needless to say, that would be a disaster. But hey, maybe that's what they are looking for? Just something to laugh at.
In the end, I didn't even know where exactly are we going to go, what we are going to do, how long would we stay there - nothing. But of course, we went nevertheless.
After some waiting time, a two lovely and uniquely dressed ladies approached us. They were two Sendai comedians who were supposed to join us on a show. But that wasn't all!
When the TV crew showed up, they came with a 10 years old girl named Hiiro who... was supposed to be out guide (Phew! So we are not guiding kids, the kid is guiding us!) Despite her young age, her English was great.
Even through one of us foreigners was proficient in Japanese, on a screen, we were all just a baka gaijins exploring the beauty of Matsushima. Even when we sometimes threw an "oishii" or "sugoi", none of it made it to the final version.
First, we went to a little temple, where Hiiro talked about its history and asked a question about its colour in the past. Then, we moved to the museum of Masamune Date - a famous samurai responsible for the rapid growth of Sendai city - where we learned about his life and achievements.
Then, it was a food time, because of course, there couldn't be a Japanese TV show without a food.
We went to a local seafood stall, and I am not the biggest fan of a seafood. But then the tempura oyster came and I had to eat it... while being filmed from really close.
Needless to say, it wasn't the most comfortable experience.
Let's ignore the-uh-quality of those photos of a TV screen
Fortunately, they oyster was really, really good! It killed a little bit of my excitement to bite it, pause because the cameraman had to take a better angle, then resume eating it acting like it was my first bite, but hey - at least it was free.
At last, we arrived at the Naked Festival. No, this TV show suddenly hasn't turned into the adult one - it was just a peculiar name for a light festival happenng in a temple.
It was evening already, cold, sun already set. Soft lights illuminated trees and danced on a sand to the tradtional music. You can say that it all made me see the temple in a different light - literally.
Although we spend around 5 hours with a crew, it all was pretty rushed. We basically run from one place to another, filming and retaking certain scenes until they felt right for the crew. I could say that I was in the Date Masamune's Museum, but we skipped 80% of the exhibition just to get one take in the most appealing spot. Similarly, the light festival was really beautiful, and speeding through and being constantly rushed was a bit disheartening.
Let's have fun!
Our 5-hour adventure was then edited into a 15 min segment, aired about a week later at 10am. It was what you might have expected - a bit funny, a bit cringey - and a good memory after all.
