Yukatas, Fireworks and Friends, oh my!

I finally made it to my first summer fireworks show in Japan!  

Actually, I did see some when I visited Japan at age 10 and I remember being so close that it seemed like the fireworks would drip onto my head.  We were all laying on the grass looking up and it seemed like there was no blank space in the sky.  It might have been also because I was 10 years old.

Anyway, we went to the Tamagawa fireworks which has been deemed one of the best shows in the Tokyo area.  There were thousands and thousands of people there and it was one of the hottest afternoons I've subjected myself to.  Thankfully, our friends brought so much food and drink so it was really fun and enjoyable.

To think, we were initially thinking of just going to "check it out."  Oh man, no way that would have happened.  You really have to commit if you're going to go see fireworks.  Tarp, food, drinks, queues for the bathroom and a snail crawl back to the train station after.

There was an even bigger show a few weeks ago but I heard that the effort in trying to get home was a complete nightmare.  Tamagawa only took us 2 hours to get home and in the most orderly mob-queue to the station ever.  The social compliance in Japan is amazing.

I also bought my first yukata in Japan.  Yukata is the summer version of a light, casual kimono that people often wear to festivals and such.  Ironically, I resisted bringing any from my home in California because I thought nobody would wear them.  "Look at that girl, she must be a tourist!"

The variety in yukatas is really cool to see, even between men and women and how their personal styles show through.   Aome of them are so, so gorgeous.  I really wanted to take photos of people in their yukatas but I just couldnt bring myself to. Maybe I buy a nicer one at some point but for this one, I actually really liked my outfit.  It was inexpensive and simple and it worked.  Blue with textured lines and white storks and a small, silver belt.  I sweated through all of them.

Tonight, my best friend is flying in!  I'm taking tomorrow, Monday, off to get her settled in for the next 3+ weeks so I'm excited. Hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of her visiting to go do more sightseeing.

Obon Week and Upcoming Events

Obon is the time of year that people in Japan return to their home towns and pay respects to their ancestors.  Combined with summer holidays and the level of humidity, it's been a pretty slow start to the week. 

On Monday, there was actually a small Obon matsuri (festival) that was held downstairs of our offices that I was pretty excited about.  I haven't been to any of the festivals or fireworks held this summer yet and I was really curious to see how it was like. Especially since my only exposure to such have been mainly Obon festivals back home in California. I wanted to see what the differences were since it seemed to be much more serious thing by business point of view.  Instead, it was more similar than I expected.  Photos captured only by iPhone and photo filters...getting lazy!

Firstly, there was a live cover band.  Pretty rock and roll!  There were a surprising amount of people with their adorable kids running around in yukatas and playing games that are, I guess, very common:

Catching goldfish with a paper net.  I remember doing this; it's super addicting, fun and frustrating!  I think I used to do them with floating ping pong balls though...maybe not as challenging as real swimming fish, now that I think of it...

Several stands of food (and beer). The grilled squid was my favorite to photograph...mmm!

Another game of trying to catch a water balloon yoyo.  I've forgotten how much fun they are!

There is apparently a huge fireworks show this weekend that's supposed to be one of the best in the Tokyo area and I think that I may stay in the city just to see it.  Also, one of my best friends is flying in Sunday night!  Words can't express how excited I am to see her and I'll be taking Monday off to get her familiarized with getting around.  She'll be staying for over 3 weeks, with another friend arriving a week later.  The boyfriend is going to be the luckiest and most unfortunate bloke on this block.