An Undokai is a Big Family Event
The annual Sports Day at a middle school is sort of a family picnic.
Normally, tents are pitched to shelter everyone from the blazing hot Okinawa sun.
This year things were a little different. The tents served as umbrellas. It rained.
Once it stopped pouring buckets of water from the sky, children hit the athletic field.
It looked almost as if they were standing on a mirror.
This character is a Chondara, sort of a clown in the Eisa group.
Normally, dust would be flying as the Eisa dancing takes place on the dirt field.
Today, I didn't mind slipping and sliding around in my flip-flops. No dust on my lens!
This Chondara, you might say, was outstanding in his field.
Several photos were taken, trying to get compositions, where he was separated from the group.
Once a Chodara gets in with the rest of the dancers, they're difficult to catch with a camera.
For a few minutes, a bit of blue sky poked through the clouds but, it wouldn't last.
A couple of hundred students romping around would drain some of the mud off the field.
Here's a GIF to show some of the unusual relay races the students execute.
It seemed as if the rain might hold off for the rest of the day but, it didn't.
Shortly after the relays were finished and, before lunchtime, the event was canceled.
More stormy weather was on the way so, I left quickly.
On the way home, I grabbed a takeout steak dinner.
Not a bad days work!
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