Genki Hekinan

It's no wonder people think Japan is a wild place. There was a festival in meek, sleepy Hekinan this weekend that really surprised me. It was called "Genki suu", and basically, it was a song, played repeatedly, blared over the main street (it was recorded, but the brass section was live, and they had to keep up with the recording, over and over and over) and about 90 different groups of people, representing businesses and various organizations, dressed up totally randomly, but doing the same dance, over and over and over, for about four hours!

The song was very energetic and fun, and i didn't want it to stop, really, until the very end. The lyrics promoted Hekinan and how everyone should be really genki. Genki means energetic and full of vigour.

Oh, in the above photo, the tall building isn't a castle or a temple or anything. It's actually a bakery, which some rich local businessman has built up to look just like Nagoya castle, but in miniature.
Hekinan is famous for carrots.
Men dressed like women, women dressed like super heros, this guy dressed like an elementary school student, complete with the ubiquitous "landosel", which every child in Japan carries for around six years. It is designed to withstand all the rigours of an elementary school career, and costs about 300 dollars. Traditionally it's a gift from grandparents.
These guys, as you may have guessed, were my favorite group of genki dancers. They did a great mockery of Japanese schoolgirls. See the video below.
This photo is blurry, but it catches some of the random energy of the festival.

It was crazy to see a parade-type festival, where there were thousands of participants and only hundreds of spectators. Usually it's the other way around. But i guess, although a sleepy town, Hekinan is very genki at heart.

Enjoy the genkiness!