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.

Hanabi "Fireworks"

The story behind this event is in the post above. These photos are shots I took of the crowds in attendance and one or two of my self-portraits.

Rainbow in Tokyo

I surfaced from a below-ground level train station yesterday evening and was greeted by a massive rainbow. It was quite surprising because I really don't ever recall seeing a rainbow anywhere in the city of Tokyo.

Judging from the numbers of other folks on the street clicking away with cell phone cameras, neither had they.

Kamakura

Once, long long ago (AD 1192-1333 to be exact), Kamakura was the capital of Japan. A small (compared alongside Tokyo & Kyoto), seaside town about 1 hour from Tokyo. It's primarily significant to foreign visitors and Japanese citizens alike for the abundance of temples, shrines and aura of "old world" Japanese charm. Really, the only other place like it in Japan is Kyoto; also noted for it's previous status as a historical capital city. As some of you know, Ericka and I used to live in Kyoto (pre-children life) and it is for this reason I believe that we are truly attracted to Kamakura.

Last Sunday we met an old friend (coincidentally a friend from Kyoto!) whom we haven't seen in 12 years. About 1 month ago I ran across his photo and email address in a professional English journal and I contacted him.

We boarded an old electric train in Fujisawa and gingerly rolled down the tracks towards the ocean. Despite the crowds, Miki and I really enjoyed the train ride. It is a slow-moving train and it passes just barely thru some very narrow streets and neighborhoods and at one point weaves out into the middle of the street much like a San Francisco trolley car. We clicked & clacked our way into numerous little villages along the way and at almost every curve and station stood an army of photographic train buffs trying to get that perfect shot. It quickly became obvious that this train and its route stand as the attraction for many people and I could see why. One long stretch of track parallels the ocean where hundreds of surfers flapped around in the waves (not very big ones, mind you, but nonetheless...)

We unloaded in Kamakura and took a leisurely back-street walk to the number one "must-see" sight: Daibutsu or "Great Buddha". With 2 children we knew our time was limited so we just opted for the no nonsense approach. We picked up a quick lunch and ate while strolling a pedestrian-only boulevard towards another famous temple/shrine complex. The weather was pleasant and the occasional sea breeze kept things cool.

I truly enjoyed this day-trip and I plan to return soon. As I mentioned, the nostalgia it brought back from our "younger" times in Japan made a big impression and I'm eager to explore more. Great photo opportunities, quaint traditional-style inns, good restaurants and plenty of history and culture to absorb.

Daibutsu

Big Buddha or Great Buddha. The attraction in Kamakura city.

Kamakura Eno-den Train

This wonderful (because of the crowds some people hate it) little train line runs between Fujisawa and Kamakura. It's old (on purpose) and wiggles its way very narrowly thru densely-packed neighborhoods and along the ocean.

Miki and I loved every minute of it.

If anyone visits I'll be sure to take you next time...

Other Kamakura photos

Just a few others I thought I'd share from our wonderful day-trip last weekend.

Let's do it again soon!

Shinkansen

No I didn't ride on one but I saw numerous pull in and out of Tokyo station yesterday afternoon. A very impressive mode of transportation. Most travel at top speeds of over 200kmh, the lead cars look like a cross between a stormtroopers helmet and a concorde airplane. They are long and sleek with a total of 16 cars.

The first photo was taken randomly out of a train window.

Music Festival

The school I work for held its yearly music festival at the Tokyo International Forum this month. It also happened to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the school's founding and as such was a pretty big deal. Students from K-12 participated in the day-long event in downtown Tokyo.

I arrived at the Forum at 9am and Ericka and the girls, as guests, arrived around 10:30. There were 2 performances scheduled and after the 1st performance Ericka, Miki & Sam headed back to the apartment. The highlight of the day for Miki was the chance to ride on the Romance Car twice. An express train with reserved seating only that links the western suburbs with the downtown core. The closest thing to a bullet train at a fraction of the cost. Speaking of "shinkansen", Miki was able to watch 5 or 6 of them pull into Tokyo station. She has a small book on the Japanese bullet trains and for some reason is very keen on reading it every night and she often talks about the bullet trains. All in all, a good "train-ing" day for Miki.

As for Sam, she was as good as gold during the performances and even demonstrated her newly-learned skill of clapping.

Here's the short video of Sam demonstrating the art of baby claps. Photos from the day below on the next post.

80th Anniversary Music Festival

I briefly explained the story behind these photos above, in the previous post. In order that they appear: the birds-eye view of the Forum atrium; Miki watching the shinkansen pull into Tokyo station; the girls outside the Forum; Miki eating a "sembei" (cracker); the Middle & Upper Division Orchestra.

Romance Car

As noted somewhere in another posting, Miki loves the trains known as Romance Car. It's a luxurious express train with reserved seating only that makes daily runs between the western suburbs and the downtown Tokyo core. The girls were lucky enough yesterday to ride it twice on their way to the Tokyo International Forum.

Kaze no take

About 2 days ago we had a fierce wind storm here. It had all the traits of a typhoon (usually common this time of year) minus the rain. I was out early heading to the train station and my walk took me thru a small grove of bamboo trees. Quite a scary thing because these trees, even the mature ones, although very strong and rigid, they bend and sway in the wind like a sapling.

I got an idea to try and slow the shutter speed for a shot to see if I could capture the mood of the wind in these trees.