Hanabi in Chofu

It's summer "matsuri" (festival) time in Tokyo and there's no shortage of carnival-like events and fireworks to entertain the masses.

Last week we were gracefully invited by a good friend to join him and his extended family for the yearly fireworks display in their hometown of Chofu, about 30 minutes down the tracks. Unfortunately, Ericka and the girls would already be in the States on the night of the event, but I went nonetheless.

The extended Sato clan are well, gracious as ever and as I hadn't seen many of them for about 7 years, it was nice to see familiar faces again. The only family member missing was the young man, Takuto, who had, about 3 days prior, taken a nasty fall on his motorcycle rounding a right-hand corner. The consequence was a badly broken right femur which required a 40 cm. steel rod to set straight. He's hospital and wheelchair-bound for the entire month of August and then another grueling month at least on crutches. Otherwise, he is fine and in good spirits. Here's to a speedy recovery, Takuto. O daijinii kudasai.

On with the story...

I arrived with my host around 6pm and we wound our way up to the 4th floor of a family-owned apartment overlooking the Tama river. Spread on the veranda was a wonderful home-cooked feast reminiscent of backyard BBQ's back home, complete with lawn chairs and Coleman coolers stocked with beer, wine and sake.

As the clocks hit 7:30 the fireworks began. I don't doubt that some of you have seen some amazing fireworks displays in your life and in your travels, however, I'm willing to wager that the display I witnessed 3 nights ago would rank in anyone's top 3. Not only was there tremendous variety but the event lasted for a solid 1.5 hours, non-stop! Honestly, there was never a lull long enough in those 90 minutes to reach for and open a new beer before the next volley was sent skyward. A staggering volume of gunpowder and pyrotechnics.

Needless to say, I had my camera ready and this being one of my major reasons for attending, I snapped over 260 photos that night. I have since combed thru them and here are a few.