Japan Day

Will and I (ok mostly me) were disappointed that we had missed Korea Day so we made sure to have a butchers at Japan Day when it came to Auckland's Queen's Wharf. We started the afternoon with some ramen in a little restaurant in Mount Eden village called Zool Zool. Mine came in a miso broth and was delish :)

We headed down towards The Cloud building by the harbour which was filled with all sorts of sights and smells, including a large display of Honda cars! We watched whilst paying customers indulged in a tea serving ceremony. It was fascinating to watch the choreographed and graceful moves of the Japanese women serving the Matcha tea and I wish we'd had some extra dollars to spend here...

Upstairs we saw some guys and girls practising the martial art Aikido. As they were in front of the window the light meant it was difficult to take clear photos but I liked the shapes their bodies were creating and they almost looked like silhouettes, or puppets in front of a paper theatre. 

I spotted a long table lined with bottles of ink and traditional brushes and paper and pinned above examples of Japanese calligraphy symbols. I couldn't wait to have a try and chose to have a go at the 'Brightness' character. The girl instructed me to load the brush fully and hold it at an almost vertical angle, sort of at right angles to the paper, which felt a little unnatural but I'm so glad I had a go and was really pleased with the outcome :) 

The video below is of a girl singing. From the looks of the girls in the front row of the audience I'd say she was pretty famous and very popular as they seemed to know all the words and kept cheering! The girls' costumes were amazing, with exaggerated hair styles and silky gowns. (I now wish I'd bought a manga book from one of the many stalls!) I have to say the chorus was very catchy and me and Will kept singing it to each other for the rest of the day!

Outside was a bit grizzly but we stuck around long enough to watch this cool ninja performance! We loved that the actors took the whole thing very seriously and kept in character for the entire time.

I loved Japan Day and although Will has already been I really want to visit the country now :) 

Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival

Today we went to the opening day of the Tamaki Herenga Waka festival on Auckland's Queen Wharf.  This weekend is a 3 day one for us, as Monday is the bank holiday of Auckland Day and this festival is a celebration of Maori culture. We witnessed some whakairo (carving) and spoke to a guy who told us that he has made pieces for Auckland council and Devonport library. He showed us a head piece which would be situated at the top of a marae (sacred meeting place, kind of triangular in shape) with the two slopes coming down acting as the arms, the line at the top the spine and the legs at the back. The eyes of the head can be big and round like an owl or smaller and more narrow like a hawk. The carver said that traditionally this was a way to preserve Maori stories and legends. 

We had a quick look round the stalls, no purchasing unfortunately as we are saving for a little trip coming up - but more on that soon! There were tempting looking food vans displaying wares of sea food fritters and hangi platters, tables of greenstone jewellery and Maori patterned wall hangings. We saw small children and adults alike walking around with temporary moko (tattoos) on both sides of their faces (men) and their chin (women). Inside was a stall selling Maori medicine and natural remedies and a few beds where tired visitors were indulging in a relaxing massage. 

Outside of 'The Cloud' building we were welcomed by the display of a large waka (canoe) at the entrance. Both Will and I remembered our visit to Mitai Maori village and cultural show and the facts told to us about the boats; how they were made, how many men could fit inside etc - look back to the Campervan Adventures post! We noticed the large male genitalia(!) displayed on the wooden figures at the front and back of the waka to signify male strength.

There was a stage and band and we caught a couple of songs by Bob Marley that they had re-imagined, slightly changing the words to fit the Maori's particular struggle with colonisation and how they are overcoming it. Everyone was sitting on beanbags and the atmosphere was so laid back.

Outside there were buskers' 'stations' with a few crazy acts like Celtic Colin who dressed in a kilt, played the bagpipes then got on a 3m high unicycle and juggled knives. And we watched whilst some spray painting artists created some great patterned images.

Venturing over to The Maritime museum we caught the semi final of the waka race. I took some photos...

But the only way to show you what it was really like was to film a little video! My first on this blog which I've uploaded on to my very own YouTube channel -

Waka Race

We were about to leave when we heard an announcement for a free ferry ride around the port so tagged along - can't turn down something for nothing! It was lovely to float about in the turquoise waters, sea spray in our faces and thinking of our friends back in the UK braving the freezing wind and rain, sorry!