Fat Bear Week

 Apr. 20, 2022

I read an interesting conversation between a couple. In the conversation they talk about "Fat Bear Week". According to the woman, who is from Alaska, it is a famous custom in the state. Every autumn people vote for their favorite bear. Since I didn't know what she was talking about at first, I went online and did some research. 

Soon I came across a You Tube video that introduced contenders for the contest in Year 2021, and a webpage that gave you the details of the event. According to an online explanation, it is a single elimination tournament, where two contenders collide head-on, not physically, of course, but compete with each other through people voting. The one that wins more votes wins and climbs up the tournament. How do people make their choice? Well, basically, they are supposed to vote for whichever bear that looks fatter. The idea is the fattest bear is the one that is most prepared for the coming hibernation. It is a way of raising people's awareness of the ecosystem of which they are a part, and also of cultivating people's love of and respect for nature, which they must take good care of in order to continue a sustainable life. 

In the conversation, the woman was going to throw a party for Fat Bear Week. It's like someone from Aomori, now living in Tokyo, throwing a party in Tokyo, because it's time for the Mebuta Festival. It's very unlikely to happen. So that got me interested in the difference between people in Japan and people in the US regarding why people throw a party. 

One reason, I assume, that people in the US throw a party for one's hometown event is that they are proud of where they are from, and also that they think their locality should be interesting to their friends.

On the other hand, here in Japan, while many are presumably proud of where they are from, some may feel their hometowns are not so cool, especially compared with big cities like Tokyo and Yokohama, and therefore they don't bother to ostentatiously advertise their hometown. Also, many Japanese, somewhat by cultural trait, tend to be rather reserved about sharing their locality with others who are from different hometowns. 

Regardless of the cultural difference on why people throw parties, though, joining a Fat Bear Week party sounds like fun. I can imagine myself getting so excited about choosing my favorite bear. I may even develop a feeling of love for my choice as it climbs up the tournament...until one day, of course, I accidentally come across one in the woods and get eaten by it.