Birds and Bagpipes

Every July, our city hosts a folk festival called M’Eire Morough, one of the city’s main events, along with Flanders Open Rugby and Katuit. The name supposedly has a meaning in Irish too, but it also means “a hangover tomorrow” in the local dialect. It’s a combination of music, food, games, stalls selling accessories and clothes, … Continue reading →

First festival in years!

It had been 6 years since I last went to a music festival. Or should I say ‘live open-air performance of a band that is bigger than the ones that only play in local venues’… 🤔I did go to for example White Lies and Olly Murs in the meantime, but those were in concert halls, which give a … Continue reading →

Kyoto: a missed festival

After I picked up my friend Hanna at the station and she put her stuff in the guesthouse, we were told about a big festival happening that day. As we still had the day off, we decided to go check it out. It was a few kilometers away, and they told us to go by … Continue reading →

First food truck festival for Baasrode

A few weeks ago, Baasrode organised its first food truck festival. Though we had a lot of ‘complaints’, it was good for a first time. There were several special foods to try. They were all delicious and the food truck people were friendly. The music was too loud; it was supposed to be background music … Continue reading →

Okayama Uraja Dance

Here’s a short video of the Uraja dance at the festival in Okayama. If you watch closely, you see that the Uraja dance is really simple in itself, but every group made their own version of it. I would’ve filmed more if only I had properly charged my camera beforehand and if I only I had … Continue reading →

Aki no Okayama Momotaro Matsuri

Last morning in Himeji: I woke up early, gave Kyoko the Belgian biscuits and got ready to leave. Kyoko gave me a nice katana souvernir from Himeji and nearly cried when saying goodbye! She’s so kind. Kyoko, once again, ありがとう！ At 9:10 I took the train to Aioi, where I transferred to a train bound … Continue reading →

Himeji: Rock Festival + Tsukimi

I met up with my hosts Kyoko and Megumi around 12:30. I didn’t have a clue where we were going, but in any case we headed to a park behind the castle. Before we arrived, Kyoko asked me whether I liked rock music, so I told her I did, and she answered she didn’t and … Continue reading →

Brussels Food Truck Festival

On Mother’s Day, I took my mom out to Brussels for the Brussels Food Truck Festival. She was overjoyed to try all these special foods, and we even tried insects. ^^ There were about 40 food trucks stationed in two streets next to the central train station. There was food from all over the world, … Continue reading →

November 2013

I spent a few more days in Yokosuka, just hanging out with the host family. After spending a month in Yokosuka, I moved to Kawasaki. The apartment I stayed at was right next to Kawasaki’s Korea Town. In the area there was lots of industry and the air was very dirty, but I still liked … Continue reading →

Back in Belgium! – June 2013

I returned to Belgium June 10th I believe. Back in Belgium I was especially surprised at the sun setting that ‘late’. I think at that time it only set around 10.30 pm, while in Japan the sun disappeared as early as 7 pm! I realized this when I met up with a friend and I had … Continue reading →