Yodogawa Fireworks

It's been a while as Jenna was visiting for a couple weeks, but I still really wanted to post about the Yodogawa fireworks we were lucky enough to experience in August.


Our friend Mayu helped me get dressed in my yukata, and we were ready to see the famous show (supposedly shooting off over 30,000 fireworks!) in no time.




When we got to the station, hundreds of people were hustling down the stairs on their way to the fireworks.


We were generously given tickets that included seats at tables on the river, a bento (Japanese lunch box), a green tea and a beer.

Phew! 7000 yen!

Above, you can see some of the tables in front of the river and the view before dark, and below you can see some of us in our fashionable yukata!

Everyone had a lot of fun hanging out and eating bentos before the show.

We were also given these cute fans with pictures of wild boar on them--appropriate enough considering our nightly encounters with boar!

These fireworks are from the beginning of the show.

The pictures above, as well as the following video, were taken toward the start of the show. Needless to say that the beginning of fireworks in Japan are like our grand finales. Especially since I might have said that before?

These fireworks and our seats were amazing! Nothing will ever be able to compare to the great show we saw. We'll just have to hope to experience it again someday!

Yokkaichi Fireworks

During the summer it's guaranteed that every day--somewhere in Japan--there is going to be hanabi, or a firework show. In August alone, there are over 200 firework shows, and John, Joel, Chad, our friend Takahiro and I went to the Yokkaichi show.

Before finding a place to sit, we stopped at one of the food stalls for taiyaki. These fish-shaped sweets are made with pancake-like batter and filled with sweet bean paste or other delicious fillings. We tried custard. Yum!

We had a great view from Yokkaichi Port. The area was packed!

Not only do the Japanese celebrate summer with fireworks much more frequently than Americans, but with firework shows of a much greater caliber. When I tell my students that 4th of July fireworks generally last about 20-25 minutes, they all gasp, "Ehhhhhhhhhhh?" Japanese hanabi typically last at least an hour and a half. And although our pictures can't possibly do the Yokkaichi firework show justice, within five minutes of it's start, the show was better than a full 20 minute show back home. The fireworks were just great.

The Grand Finale:

One downside to seeing such amazing fireworks was trying to get home! The street was jam-packed with people.

You can't see too well in this picture, but many people were wearing jinbe (a kind of summer pajama) or yukata (summer kimono). Traditional clothing such as these are often worn to firework shows.

We had a great time, and can't wait for fireworks next summer!