Sports Day

	The Shimotonbetsu Elementary School students (yes, all of them) practicing their Soran dance for the festival
	I forgot to bring my caqmera and so dashed back home during lunch to get it. This is the sight that greeted me upon my return.
	The dance was to a Japanese version of "Hey Mickey You're So Fine". Yes, that's Shinnosuke and Manabu up front on the skirts and plastic hair.
	And here's the chorus line for the grand finale. Side note: good lord Erika's hair is long.
	The sign that decorated the school throughout the festival. The only place unions have strength anymore in Japan seems to be the middle of nowhere.
	Group B's Soran Dance.
	The final pose
	Well, not quite final
	Wow, it's a good thing Daisuke is light
	No, I don't know what that says
	The elementary students heading back to the waiting area after a race
	Here's one of the adult games they played. This one was a relay race to fill a tank with water from the buckets to pop the balloons. I think that's Erika's mom on the right though I can't be sure. I ended up racing against an octagenarian (at a guess) who was so bent over from a lifetime of fishing that her torso is at a right angle to her legs and she has to walk with a cane. I won.
	Begin the big relay race. I got as many shots of the handoffs as I could. The elementary kids were first.
	Fumiya handing off to Mina for the red team.
	Sena handing off to Chinami for the white team (Sena's surprisingly fast)
	Yui and Erika (have I mentioned Erika's hair is really long?)
	Takumi and Manabu
	Some of last years ninth graders showed up. At first I didn't even recognize Kazumi. Sho's behind here, and Toyohiro was there too.
	I snuck in with the red team's picture
	And here's white team
	The final score ended up a tie
	The elementary students posing
	Victory pose for the junior high students
	I did not escape the event entirely unscathed, however. This was my neck a few days later.