The whole neighborhood turned out for this festival. Seventy kilograms of rice had been soaking in water for two days. 
Then, this morning, it was cooked for just 15 minutes. 
The men were in charge of cooking the rice, then bringing it over to the pounding area, where another group of men were taking turns pounding it with big wooden mallets. Another person was slipping the hands into the rice to wet it and turn it, in between falls of the mallet! 
After it was sufficiently pounded into a doughy mass, it was brought over to a table covered in flour, where the women were waiting to shape it into little balls. 
Those balls were then set in the shrine building itself. (I think they were just resting here and were awaiting some further cooking).
Other balls of mochi were dunked into pots of sweet beans or rolled in a soybean flour (looked and tasted like ground peanuts), and then served to the people loitering around. 
It was a really interesting morning, and great fun to taste freshly made mochi! 
Then, this morning, it was cooked for just 15 minutes. The men were in charge of cooking the rice, then bringing it over to the pounding area, where another group of men were taking turns pounding it with big wooden mallets. Another person was slipping the hands into the rice to wet it and turn it, in between falls of the mallet! After it was sufficiently pounded into a doughy mass, it was brought over to a table covered in flour, where the women were waiting to shape it into little balls. Those balls were then set in the shrine building itself. (I think they were just resting here and were awaiting some further cooking).Other balls of mochi were dunked into pots of sweet beans or rolled in a soybean flour (looked and tasted like ground peanuts), and then served to the people loitering around. It was a really interesting morning, and great fun to taste freshly made mochi! 
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