33rd Bon Odori

Last Saturday, on 18th July 2009, the 33rd Bon Odori was held in Panasonic Sports Complex in Shah Alam. I have always wanted to attend Bon Odori even while in high school, although for some reason, I never made it to one. Co-incidentally, a friend of mine thought it would be a good event to capture some nice photos and eat some authentic Japanese food, so off we went.

Gates to the event opened at 5 p.m. and we arrived at about 4.45 p.m. and was allowed to park in an enclosed parking area ( I think it was the business grounds of Panasonic Malaysia) right next to the sports complex. As we entered the sports complex, I remarked "Is that it??". Suffice to say, I was deeply disappointed that hardly any decorations or attempt to make the complex a little more 'Japanese' was made. Only 4 rows of lanterns hung atop the centre field with a stage right in the middle.

After the initial disappointment, we proceeded to the food stalls and before the crowds came, we were able to survey what was on offer. The food stalls were mainly by Japanese restaurants such as Sushi King. Also, Jusco was selling some tidbits in one stall. I thought I was going to get a taste of authentic Japanese cooking. Oh well, we did have some Snow Mango (which is Mango flavored ice, really soft ice) which was quite nice. The other food was just so so.

Later, we made our way to the bleachers to get a seat so that we could watch the drum performance that was supposed to start at 7 p.m. I was disappointed again because there less than 10 drums and the 'performance' went on for maybe 3-5 minutes. Later, when the Japanese girls on the stage started to do a Japanese dance, I was surprised as a big majority of the crowd had gathered around the stage and starting dancing as well. That was the only nice part for me, seeing people participate. Sad, really. Hahahaha.