My wife Yoko and I get Festival Fever every summer.
Yoko’s main hobby is kimonos and she really loves to wear yukata during summer festival season. This year I promised to get her a special tailor-made yukata from carefully selected material, a hand-made indigo with traditional methods, a one-of-a-kind that would make her look completely unique. We accomplished this in mid-July, complete with ample consultation from a team of super-friendly grandmas, plenty of measuring and tons of small talk. Making a long story short, I can do no wrong with my darling wife this summer! She is very pleased and wants to wear it to work this week. That’s probably pushing it but you get the idea!
Festival season, and especially fireworks displays ususally start with Gion Matsuri in mid-July and continue on right up to Aug 16 with the millenium-old Daimonji Fire Festival in Kyoto.
But check around in the local magazines because there are often a few less-well-known displays in the latter half of August. These generally get fewer people and, with the weather not quite as hot, can be very charming ways to spend the evenings of the waning summer nights. So far this year we have also been to:
Maizuru Fireworks Festival July 27, Takarazuka Aug 1, Kobe Meriken Park Aug 2, Yodogawa Aug 9 (of course!), and Uji Aug 10. Uji was very crowded last night, but what a beautiful setting out on the river near Byodo-In.
We’re are neither jaded nor tired so
we also have plans
to go to two more festivals in Fukui Prefecture:
Echizen and Tsuruga on Aug 15 and 16. These will be nice evening highlights during our slow return from the road trip to Gifu/Ishikawa starting tomorrow. The Tsuruga Festival on the 16th is very large and attracts a fair number of people away from Daimonji, the usual stand-by for Kansai festivals that night. For those
not wishing to go so far, there is also Fukuchiyama on Aug 15th and Inagawa which will be held a little later this year, on Saturday Aug 23rd if my Alzheimer is still in check.
Yoko and I have figured out how to get the jump on the festival lineup around Kansai so next year I’ll post a complete listing of upcoming events early in July as soon as I know what’s happening. You’ll be surprised how many shows there are to see. Meanwhile, for this summer enjoy the Obon break and take care of yourselves!
Martin W Zander
マーティン・ワーナー・ザンダー
Smith’s School of English Fukushima Osaka Umeda
月謝制 の スミス 英会話 福島 校 大阪 市 梅田 校
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/fukushima.shtml
Smith’s School of English Kotoen Nigawa Nishinomiya
月謝制 の スミス 英会話 甲東園 校 仁川 校 西宮 市
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/kotoen.shtml
Awesome photos, Martin!
Martin,
It sure seems you get around the country a bit! I was impressed by the number of prefectures you have explored listed in an earlier post, “Driving in Japan”.
When it comes to fireworks, the Japanese sure know what they are doing. I was lucky enough to catch the PL Fireworks display on August 1, in S.E Osaka. I enjoyed pretty much a solid hour of beautiful fireworks from a mates seventh floor mansion. It was great! Your photos are great too!
I am looking forward to your Events Calendar posting in the future.
Have a happy and safe Obon.
Tim
Sakai Higashi.
Martin,
Great Pics! Looking forward to the events calendar too! Keep up the good work!
Al
(Smith’s Okamoto)