Japanese School Sports Day

Ever experienced school sports day in a little Japanese village? Come, I’ll show you.

Set against a backdrop of the majestic mountains, basked in the morning sun.

Because it was a small,

the 3 schools in the village had a combined sports day—the junior high school, the elementary school,

and the kindergarten.

This meant that everyone was going to have fun. The older kids helped ensure so.

The elementary school’s special item

The junior high school’s special item

The best part? At the end of everything, everyone (including the parents who cheered energetically from the sides throughout) participated in a village dance. The entire village was there. Photo? Oh, there’s none because I joined in and was reveling in the moment.

One Thursday in August, four years ago.