Bon Odori 2016

Bon Odori is a traditional custom for the Japanese Buddhist to honor the spirits of their ancestors which includes a family reunions, visiting their ancestors' graves and traditional dance as well.


This year, the Bon Odori is held on 23rd July 2016 in Panasonic National Sports Centre in Shah Alam. It was slightly drizzling this year, so we had to carry umbrellas around and because of the rain, the field became all muddy and moist, our shoes/slipper/geta were either soaked in rain or mud.. well it wasn't that bad actually, but we did get mud on our geta.


Usually for Bon Odori we get to wear Japanese Yukata. It is different than formal Kimono, since a Yukata is usually made of cotton it is more suitable to wear it in Summer, here in Malaysia everyday is Summer. So if you wish to wear a Kimono, by all means go ahead but be warned, Kimono has at least 3 layers and not to mention the Obi (the belt that holds all the folds and knots together) is big and extravagant. My friends and I wore Yukata, my boyfriend wore a Jinbei but I never did get a full body picture of him. =( Together with my friends we made some Tuna Mayo Sushi and Gyoza~ Read more about the differences of Kimono and Yukata here : http://blog.fromjapan.co.jp/en/fashion/all-about-kimono-and-yukata-the-differences-how-to-wear-buy.html


At the gathering we hang out with friends, sit around and chit chat, then we watch some performance by other schools who volunteered to perform or by the Japanese embassy itself, such as traditional dance from Hokkaido, drum performance and etc. Other than that as I've mentioned above, we dance. We follow the dance around the stage.


Many trained professionals will be dancing on stage whilst teaching us how to dance. The steps are pretty simple which includes steps forwards and backwards, hand and feet movement. It is uniform and fun when you're dancing with everyone else, a great experience I'd say.

Ohh! I forgot about the fans that they give out during Bon Odori, if you do not have your own fan, fret not! The volunteers at Bon Odori will hand out FREE fans at 2 entrances, the front and back entrance. These fans has a few purposes; to use it in the dance routine, to fan yourself when it gets hot, to swat flies if there is any and to hit your friends/siblings/significant others when they're being silly hahaha!! So do not abandon your fan dear readers and attendees, if you have nowhere to put your fan but you are wearing a yukata, male or female you can put it behind you. Just slot it in between your yukata and your Obi it acts as a belt holding your yukata in place as well as your fan!


If you are not wearing a yukata however, you can always put it behind someone else then, whether it's a friend/sibling/significant others. If they don't mind of course, don't just slot it in without asking!!


Another thing to be aware off is that you SHOULD NOT cosplay at Bon Odori. It is not a Cosplay convention, it is an event to HONOR the ancestors AKA the dead. You are NOT respecting them by cosplaying.


Now that all these are stated, it is time for you to enjoy some pictures~♡

At home making gyoza for Bon Odori

Sushi making~~

Heading to Panasonic National Sports Centre

Panoramic view from our "camp site"

This is where we're "camping" XD

Top: Kori (ma sista from another mother)

Bottom: (Left: Alisya, Right: Me)

Alisya and Me

Left to Right: Kori, Alisya, me and Iqi

View of the stage and a cameo of Kori~ XD

Crowd around the food stalls, it is impossible for us (Kori, Alisya and me) to walk near the stalls because the nearer we get the muddier the floor.

Couldn't get a front view of these 2 pretty girls.. =(

Just us with our free balloons from Mister Donut!

Peacock balloons!!

It seems there are holes in some of the balloons, maybe kept too long in the storage. But we had a great laugh before throwing them away... Size for comparison~

With Louis~ Only saw him once that evening, he promised to come to our spot but didn't turn up. You stood us up bro!

Look at that cute little girl with her Yukata.. So adorable!! Sneaking photos of cute little kids in their Yukata... Σ(゜ロ゜;)

This is practically the only thing we bought in the whole place. 2 huge cups of these only costs RM15

Us during the dance...

Waiting for another song to start..

This is the stage I was talking about and the dancers up there~ 

Cube sushi were made by Alisya

Picture of my friend's purchase of fruits~

Another group pic, this time we have Sophia and Shadow with us~

My friends: (standing) Kris, (sitting) Noctis

This time group picture with Sky, Yuan, Ash and Sophia

4 pretty ladies~

With fellow blogger, best friend, Waifu(?)/Husbando(?) ✧(σ๑˃̶̀ꇴ˂̶́)σ

Look at the lovely Yana! She's a breath-taker! Shout out to YANA check out her blog!

http://www.absoluteyana.com/

We had a wonderful time and I hope you did too looking at all these pictures!

Thank you for your time~ I do hope you learn more about Bon Odori and join us next year!