In college while studying engineering I learned such concepts as conservation of mass and conservation of energy which, in essence, mean that things tend to balance out. Although I have never attended film school I am finding that they must teach a similar concept there – for every good day of filming there must be a bad day of filming. Catherine and I frequently refer to our own corollary – some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you.

A few days ago I had the perfect day of filming at a martial arts tournament. I filmed wonderful kendo, karate, and archery action, benefited from great lighting and captured compelling characters. I had hoped for a similar day at the Sanno Matsuri or “Spring Festival” in Takayama, a relatively small city of 60,000 in the Japanese Alps. This festival is quite famous in Japan and features a procession of ornate and historic floats, some of which are hundreds of years old. Well everyone can sleep easy now that balance and harmony have been restored to the universe. The bear most definitely ate me in Takayama. Herewith find a log of our travels (travails?) on April 14:

06:00
Wake children for early morning train trip and hear grumbling about “Dad taking us on another field trip.” I realize that I am no Miss Frizzle but the children act like my field trips are less like The Magic School Bus and more like The Tragic Slave Galley.

07:34
Board bullet train for Nagoya where we switch to a local train to Takayama. Arrive in Takayama at 10:52 to find rain.

11:00 to 12:00
After wandering around to get our bearings we learn that the scheduled parade at 13:00 has been cancelled due to rain. We also learn that we were misinformed in that the 13:00 parade was to have been some of the townspeople in historic garb and that the procession of floats is a night-time event and starts at 18:30. Unfortunately, our return tickets on the last express train home are for 18:49.

12:00 to 13:00
After lunch we wander around town, take in the atmosphere, and try to tell Sophie she can’t buy anything in the shops. Catherine finds a beautiful wood carving of a heron that would complement our collection for this trip. We have been looking for an 8”-10” statue of some indigenous animal from each country we visit. In Chile we found a stone eagle while in South Africa and India we purchased elephants, one wood and one marble. We have searched in vain so far in Japan and have found mostly kitschy porcelain cats and carp. The heron looked perfect and cost 50 “something” yen. I say “something” because we didn’t recognize the kanji symbol after 50 but assumed it meant thousands, implying a cost of roughly $500. After inquiring as to the exact price we found that the “something” meant 10,000 and that the heron would cost $5000. We decide that kitschy cats and carp aren’t so bad after all.

13:00 to 14:00
Discover that one of the floats plans to have a marionette show from its warehouse (where it was staying out of the rain and dry) at 14:00. Set up video camera in a perfect spot to capture show and waited for the show. Unfortunately at the climatic moment of the show where the puppet pops out of its housing, people in the crown jostle the tripod and skew the shot. Make mental note to learn appropriate Japanese cuss words regarding one’s parentage. The children wonder why we would want to stand in the rain for an hour just to film 30 seconds of spinning puppet.

14:00 to 15:00
Dry out in a coffee shop. After looking into my children’s eyes I start to appreciate how Captain Bligh felt looking out into the faces of his crew on the Bounty. You know that when James starts to ask for “permission to speak his mind freely” we are pushing too hard. The kids want to head back to Kyoto early given that with the rain there may not even be a procession of floats. Catherine “volunteers” to go back with them.

15:32
Watch the crew of the HMS Lambert sail off from my lifeboat adrift in Takayama. Attempt to buy a ticket on a later train departure than 18:49 so that I might catch a little of the night-time procession. After much hand waving on my part, I obtain a ticket that appears to leave 45 minutes later but still arrives in Nagoya at the same time as my original ticket. Upon closer inspection I find that my hand waving asking for a later departure was misinterpreted as a request to leave on the same train from a later train stop. After many apologies on my part, I am able to get a ticket again on the 18:49 departure which I confirm is the last train that would get me back to Kyoto that night.

15:45
Leave station and decide to look again for an appropriate piece of Japanese art. Find a store with a display of 8” green plastic Godzilla replicas. Not the lousy American movie version circa 2000 mind you, but the classic 1950’s Japanese sci-fi version – you know, man in a rubber suit. Contemplate buying that as Japanese art but talk myself out of it.

16:00
Give up search for Japanese art and start to look longingly at seppuku knives. I guess I’ve been watching too much Shogun.

16:20
Find the perfect location to film the procession: across the bridge from the start of the parade with a view of the floats as they turn a corner. I hope to capture a few minutes on film before I rush for the train. In order to find out exactly how much time I have to film I walk back to the train station, find that it takes 9 minutes and synchronize my watch with the train station’s clock. I now know that if the parade starts at 16:30 I have exactly 10 minutes to film the start and then run to catch the always punctual Japanese trains.

17:00
After returning to my optimal film spot I try to squeeze out a few more minutes of filming by negotiating with a taxi driver to wait for me for the next hour an a half and then rush me to the station. Since we can’t understand each other I try to use my watch to show when I want to leave. My attempts at communication fail miserably and now I don’t know the correct time since I was messing with the watch! I attempt to get the correct time by furtively looking at other peoples’ watches. Since I am a foot taller than everyone this involves leaning over a fair bit and I get strange looks from ladies as if they think I am attempting to look up their skirt. After pointing to my watch, they show me the correct time with a sigh of relief.

18:15
I can see the floats queuing up on the other side of the bridge and I set-up my focus and composition. I have the perfect shot for when the parade starts and the float crosses the bridge. Unfortunately the sun is also setting so the light levels are getting dicey.

18:30
The parade is supposed to start but nothing is moving. The men pulling the floats are ready to go, I have the perfect shot and all the blasted float has to do is move forward 50 yards.

18:35
I discover why the parade hasn’t started as another float enters from my left – the opposite direction from where it is supposed to come from! Evidently this poor crew didn’t get the message and they are late queuing for the start. The scene resembles Japanese Keystone cops as this crew tries to turn the corner and scramble over the bridge to the start. I rush to catch 3 minutes of the miscreant float on film in the fading light. I contemplate stopping filming and remaining to simply witness the parade, but since I would miss my train and the crowds of tourists have filled all the hotel rooms, staying would involve a night on a park bench. Moreover, a loving and wonderful family awaits me in Kyoto. I turn and run for the train at 18:40.

18:49
Catch train with seconds to spare and beat a hasty retreat from “the bear”.

22:30
Arrive back at the hotel in Kyoto. Balance is restored to the world.