Eisa Festival in my neighbourhood

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to see the Eisa festival in my neighbourhood! Usually my neighbourhood is very sleepy and quiet. You don't see too many people about except first thing in the morning and the afternoon when all the old people are out doing their Rajio Taiso (radio calisthenics) and playing gate ball (kind of like croquet).

I was really surprised when, while we were cooking dinner, there was lots of drumming and music I could hear coming from nearby, so I took the puppy out for a walk to see what was going on. I came across a festival of a couple of hundred people watching a big group of Eisa performers dancing and drumming to a live band! The atmosphere was absolutely amazing, and I think it was the best thing i've seen since living here in Okinawa. There were so many people there; kids in yukata and families sitting around drinking or dancing to the music. As soon as I arrived a bunch of kids ran up to me and spent the whole time patting the dog.

Unfortunately I only had my iPhone with me, so the photos below aren't amazing. I've also included a video at the bottom of a bit of the performance.

This flag says "Nakadomari", which is the name of my neighbourhood.

Ollie was a hit with the kids