Danjiri Matsuri in Shinjuku

Due to cost-cutting measures, I decided to walk all the way from my dorm to Shinjuku station to meet my friend. This would save me 130yen instead of taking a train and getting 35mins worth of walking exercise. This is equivalent to a plate of Kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi! And oh, I get to see the Danjiri Matsuri (Japanese: Festival) at the West exit of Shinjuku station as well!

因為要節省開支，所以我決定從宿舍一直走到新宿見朋友。
這讓我省下了130yen的電車費和得到35分鐘的運動，相等于一盤旋轉壽司店的壽司！
而且在新宿西口巧遇日本的Danjiri祭！

The Danjiri Matsuri is usually held at the end of September by different town's guild. It consists of carrying and parading this huge wooden heavily-decorated cart through the streets shouting something like heyho-heyho in Japanese. The carts are shaped like a temple and believed to have gods and spirits residing inside. Members of the town guild wear their happi coats but if you're in a smaller district, they won't even bother to dress up and just carry the carts in their "normal" clothes.

Danjiri祭是由不同社區主辦的9月底盛會。
祭典包括了扛起一台花俏的巨大木車，環繞街邊喊著嘿勺嘿勺的口號。
木車的樣子類似寺廟的模樣，據說是有鬼魂或神靈居住在裡面。
社區的會員都會穿著他們的傳統小外套，但是假如你看的是小鎮的祭典的話，
他們就沒管，直接穿著普通的衣服上陣！

The parade took place under the hot summer heat of 30 deg. and lasted for a few hours. My friend and I wondered if any of them cao geng (Singlish: to escape from official duty/work) at the back. We believe that the cao geng spirit is international, whether you are a Singaporean or a Japanese, in army or in festival. Kudos to internationalism!

整個慶典在炎熱的30度中午下舉行，大概持續了幾個鐘頭。
我和朋友都在想會不會有人在後面"cao geng" (Singlish: 逃避工作）。
因為我們相信cao geng 的精神是國際的，不管是新加坡人還是日本人，服兵役還是參加慶典。
我們為國際化乾杯！