[Notes] I went to the awards ceremony.

A short essay I submitted to the "#I love this recipe" project, which was held at the same time as the note Creative Awards, won an award! This is my first time winning a public contest. Thank you so much!

This is a collaboration project with the Cooking Recipe Book Awards, which is in its 11th year this year. You could say it's the recipe book version of the Japan Booksellers' Award chosen by bookstore staff. This award includes an invitation to the Cooking Recipe Book Awards ceremony, as well as the winning books and House Foods products. When I received the notification of the award from the note representative and re-read the application requirements,

Oh, I'm going. I'm definitely going.🐤

I replied with my appetite in full swing.
The next morning, I woke up and suddenly started thinking. What kind of clothes should I wear to an awards ceremony? I wondered.
I wandered around the shopping mall, feeling restless. Even though it was September, it was still hot, so a jacket was out of the question, and I couldn't go dressed more like a winner than the actual recipe book winners, but I couldn't go in dirty, washed-out clothes either. Still, if I wore short sleeves, I thought I should at least find some accessories, or at least paint my nails right before I left, and my head was spinning.
#It's not your awards ceremony

Until a week before, I worried about whether to buy new clothes and shoes, started feeling restless two days before and got an upset stomach, and on the day, I couldn't sleep much and took the Shinkansen from the countryside to Tokyo 5 hours early.
#It's not your awards ceremony

For now, I checked into the hotel and went to visit a nearby shrine.

I arrived at the venue two hours early. As expected, I killed time by having tea nearby, and searched for and looked at the recipe books that had passed the first round of judging. At this stage, I didn't know which ones had won. I thought it would be okay to go a little early, so I entered the Tokyo Dome Hotel, the venue, while looking around. It's a magnificent hotel. It looked like a Chinese group and the London Philharmonic were staying there. A hotel staff member approached to stop the suspicious-looking bird, so I walked away quickly.
#The face of 'I am an official'

I met the people from note for the first time at the reception entrance. Including me, there were 10 winners for this project. While standing and talking at the entrance, I learned thatOkaeri-san,Tsuberu-san, andtokotoko-san had only started using note a few months ago. Seriously? Talent is scary. Conversely, I, a bird, was happy to meet
Kanako-san andinfocus-san, two people I had unilaterally recognized as experts.
Sakiha 𖥧𖧧-san andKisaragi Momoko-san, I mostly just greeted, and I thinkMushinabekko-san andDarako-san were absent. Too bad. Oh, I was curious about Kisaragi-san's serious camera and kept following her with my eyes.

For the awards ceremony, please look at the official version rather than the bird's perspective. A digest version picking up the content is also uploaded on the official website.

The awards ceremony proceeded smoothly. As it progressed, the food was steadily prepared. Once the smell of meat grilling on the spot started to drift over, it was all over. Even if important people were talking in front, it went in one ear and out the other, and only the information that entered through my nose and eyes reached my brain.
#Watch the awards ceremony

The dreamlike, fun time passed in the blink of an eye, and although I touched upon the mysteries of the universe at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno the next day, my lower back reached its limit, so I headed home earlier than planned.

Still, Tokyo is a place where you can meet famous people. Come to think of it, at the Tokyo Literature Flea Market in May, there was a scene where Taro Fukushima summoned the great novelist Hotate Niikawa (*1), and this country bird is soaking in the memories, thinking what an amazing place it is.

*1: In this chick's memory, it has now become that Fukushima-san spotted Niikawa-sensei and called her over from afar, but please check this article for the details.

*2: I was trying to imitate Kosshi-san's hashtag gag, but in the end, it just fizzled out. It looks easy, but it's surprisingly difficult.