hanabi

around this time of the year, japan has many many fireworks festivals. this was the first one we went to. it was in a town called Mojiko about 45 minutes away by train. first of all, it was sooo nuts getting there! Rode to Kokura no problem, had to get off and transfer to a train going to Mojiko, where the fireworks were. Well, it seemed everyone in the prefecture wanted to go to Mojiko so it was SO crowded! We were packed in the train like sardines. I mean, I was standing up, but people were pressed so close around me that I could have fallen asleep and not fallen down. For some reason I had my arms up, I mean, my elbows bent so my hands were by my face, and I could not put my arms down! There was no space! Anyway, so we finally got to Mojiko around 7:30. afterwards, the crowd going back was equally bad. Lisa and I agreed that we’re glad we went but once is enough unless it’s close enough to walk from our place.
The fireworks were awesome though. And it went on for a little over an hour! We just all stood and watched it.. there were food carts all around too, like a carnival, selling yakitori, takoyaki, and shave ice (not like aoki’s! it was like eating big chunks of ice!), dessert crepes, and other things I didn’t recognize. Was expensive though, so lisa and I ended up buying these discount bentos outside of the fair afterwards for about $5. the picture up on the right is from the finale. more pictures from the festival here or click on "mojiko" on the photo album links to the right.