hanabi=fire flowers

Japan loves fireworks. They've been around here for a long time. We went to a museum a while back that had paintings of fireworks in Tokyo from centuries ago.

Every town has a fireworks festival at some point during the summer. Well, almost every town. Some are dropping it because of how expensive it is. People reserve a spot as early as the day before and show up in their yukatas to meet family and friends and have a little picnic.

We went to the Yachiyo Fireworks on Saturday night with some friends. Mio and I and some of the others we were with wore yukatas. The weather was cool and pleasant. We walked from Mio and Tetsuo's house (she in her geta, me in my tevas). There were loads of people heading in the same direction. Near the river where the fireworks were being shot off were lots and lots of food stands....noodles, squid and other seafood, rice cakes, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, yakitori, choco bananas, fried chicken, etc. One thing I love about all the festivals is that so many people wear yukata or other traditional clothing, even the young people. Many people talk about how wonderful it is that Japan can be so traditional and so modern at the same time. I love it that wearing yukata is still "cool" and I can't imagine that ever changing.

We sat alongside the river, in nearly the best spot available. Lanterns were sent down the river before the fireworks began, as part of traditional o-bon festivities honoring the dead. The fireworks themselves were so amazing. The hour and a half long show is made up of many sections sponsored by different companies (if I understand correctly), and at the end of each section is a mini-finale. The whole thing is spectacular.

After a great time watching fireworks, we headed back to Mio and Tetsuo's home. On the way home, was a special bonus....we came across a huge rice "vending machine." I could say that we see these all the time and make this area sound really foreign and exotic, but the truth is, this was my first time. Mio and Tetsuo said they've never even bought from one. Maybe they're more popular in the country? Anyway, just the fact that they exist makes me happy. :)

tokyo today

It'd been two months since I'd gone to Tokyo (an hour and a half away by train) and I missed it, so we headed out there today. We saw a little bit of all the things we like about Tokyo...people, shops, art, craziness and more. On our way in, we stopped at Akihabara, the electronics district, to check out some cameras at Yodabashi Camera, a huge, new electronics store that's going to put all the little interesting ones out of business (from a pessimistic standpoint). Then, we headed across the city to Yoyogi Park. We'd been to the area before, but never to this section of the park and we had heard that it could be very interesting, especially on Sundays. A lot of amateur singers and bands come here to perform. There was something special going on today, so a lot of groups were dressed up for dance performances. These two girls (beaming something on their cell phones) were with a large group that I think was going to do a performance...we didn't stick around to find out.
And these guys were practicing kendo...samurai sword-fighting practice.
Our main goal today was to see a dance performance at a local theatre (or so we thought). We're always wanting to go to performances and exhibits but feel deterred by the expense (quite high in Tokyo). But we've decided to just go for it now and then, since we always regret it if we don't. It's a little complicated since we can't always get good English information about what's going on. All we knew about the performance today was that the price was decent and we could get a good discount by mentioning the English magazine we had read about it in. We decided ahead of time that it was a gamble, but even if it was stupid, we'd be okay with spending the money on it. At the time, we didn't know how stupid it could be. At 5pm, we were waiting outside the building, lined up on a cement stairway, when pearl and clear marbles and beads of different sizes started dropping from above. A woman in a rather vintage-looking skirt and shirt with a completely serious (and creepy) expression moved slowly and dramatically down the stairs and into the theatre. We all followed her in...to a very small room that must be a dance studio. There was complete silence for about five minutes as she stood against the wall looking a little crazy and then slumped to the floor. The "performance" went on for an agonizing 45 minutes as she made very slow movements or none at all for long periods of time, punctuated by sudden movements that made me jump. Not to be a total downer, she had amazing control of her body and I was pretty impressed by some of the positions she could keep for long periods of time. And it gave me a chance to think about the meaning of art (as I struggled to see how this qualified). There was one point when the crazy lady was only a foot or two from me with her arms stretched out and I questioned whether or not I was going to make it out okay. :) In the end, after talking about it for a bit, we could see some of the meaning that probably went into it. This woman certainly cares a lot about her art and I suppose it was an honor in some way to be included in it (that's the optimistic view).

Anyway, after this...experience...we wandered back in the direction of a train station. We came across a cool store called Funky Street Star, and saw a few interesting cafes and restaurants and one crazy basket store. We ended up in Shibuya, where we went to eat and then sat and people-watched at the crazy intersection with all the lights and noise.
We also went to a huge famous store where I found some stationary with funny English. I'll leave you with my pick for the night: "I hate traffic jams. It is good if the traffic jam is lost from all over the world. However, being able to talk slowly with an important person in the car is a good thing. I love traffic jams. It settles me down when the tailight of the car is looked at. However, not being possible to go to the rest room is embarrassed."

america

Jesse and I just got back from a great trip to America for two weeks. We had a lot of fun everywhere we went. Thanks to all of you who let us use your cell phones, your cars (and gas), your trunks for our luggage, your beds for sleeping, your showers and so on. It felt so great to be back.

Here's our list of what's changed since we've been gone:

• Dominic's taller than me.
• Soda brands have many new flavors. Dr Pepper in Cherry Vanilla or Berries and Cream? Mmm...yum.
• All the young ones that we said goodbye to at 6 months or a year old are now talking. A lot. Intelligently. At higher levels of English than many of our students.
• We have a new brother-in-law and a new niece.
• Gas prices rose from $2 to $3 plus.
• There were bats in my parents' wood stove. (What didn't change: the boys turned getting rid of them into a late-night adventure. Ew.)
• There are fun new things, like Guitar Hero.