Sunday, August 24, 2008

Hanabi 花火


It’s a lazy Sunday night but the sound of summer festival is still ringing in the air. The heat in Tokyo can be very unbearable during summer, it doesn’t help with the humidity, crowds, noises and pollution as the toppings. Yet every time when I leave Tokyo, I miss the city so much and can’t wait to return. Starting from the Cherry Blossoms in April ushering in the Spring, Tokyo has a whole series of Festivals that complement the summer season.

From late July onwards, there are large scale fireworks display running for consecutive weekends till late August. The fireworks - Hanabi (花火大会) is a big attraction for young people and families. Girls wear their colourful and fashionable yukata (cotton kimono) with beautiful hairdo, and have wonderful parties with their friends.



Last month we went to the Hanabi at Sumida River (隅田川), these were the fireworks vessels but the public could only view it BEHIND the buildings, not along the river banks?!


We were surprised that people were already picnicking on the streets!

I was certainly not going to hang out under a bridge!
With no place to sit nor stand, we had no choice but to leave early :(

This time in August, the venue was much nicer at Edogawa (江戸川), it was an open parkland with unobstructed view of the fireworks :)

Again girls in pretty yukata @@

Now, the main attractions ....




Hehe, talk about fireworks, are you enjoying the amazing fireworks at the Olympic closing ceremony in Beijing now? You think our handsome boy is also glueing in front of the TV now?

2 comments:

gosijo said...

Hi Jaime,

Yes, to your last questions. One of the greatest thrills of watching the Games and the ceremonies is knowing that those we know and love all around the world are watching at the same time.

Thanks once again for sharing with us your experiences in learning about your host country and your family's explorations of its festivals.

I didn't leave a comment with he previous post but would like to add my appreciation for Regie's lovely interpretations of our dear YJ's photographs.

jaime said...

Dear gosijo,

I felt the same way too when I was watching the Olympic cermonies. Without much news about HRH, this seems to be the only connection we have with him now, knowing that we were all watching the same event.

Thank you always for your nice comments. I know it's boring to read my Japan life instead of HRH's news but I really want to record these down as my good memories :)

Please take care!

love ... jaime