Mimi and I saw the moon while out grocery shopping. We were by Kojima, which like many Japanese stores has a huge neon sign. It is of a smiling sun. I thought it was funny that this artificial sun hindered my viewing of the “perfect” moon.

The photo shoot went well. It was fun watching the expressions of people passing by when the say me taking pictures of a woman dressed up as a rabbit in the woods. Mimi even went into a pond of sticky, gooey mud. We will not know how the pictures came out until they are developed but that is a concern for Mimi.

On our way home we noticed some people washing plates with water from a hand pump cistern. Since Mimi was in the muddy pond she wanted to wash her feet so we stopped by. While she washer her feet we noticed that the group there was cooking rice with an old fashioned wooden cooker. When we asked about it they explained that this Tuesday was Ostukimi (moon viewing). Moon viewing is a holiday in Japan that celebrates the best day in the fall to view the full moon. Ostukimi falls on a workday this year so the group explained that they were celebrating tonight instead. Before long we were invited to enjoy local food, view the moon and hear traditional Japanese music.

So we went home to change clothes and later in the evening went to view the moon. Unfortunately is was cloudy but that did not stop the festivities. In addition to the moon viewing festival a local festival about cats was also taking place. Many of the young girls had whiskers painted on their faces and wore cat ear hats. The musical group played songs about the moon on Japanese stringed instruments. In Japan the color of the moon is thought to be yellow not white. Since the moon remained behind clouds a man taped a yellow fan to a pole and moved it back and forth over the musicians.

The custom of removing shoes in Japan before entering homes and buildings can seem quite humorous when a large group of people assembles. The shoes fan out from the entrance forming a sea of footwear that one must navigate over to enter the building. Such was the case on this evening.