Fireworks, Moving, and Matsuris

Hello! A lot has happened since my last post. First of all, I moved into a new apartment. It is a great location, very clean, and a lot of my friends (and even two my my professors) live here. However, the house where Kate and I lived had four bedrooms, and this apartment is a studio which, all and all, is smaller than any one bedroom in our former house. I am perfectly comfortable in this size space, but I still have way too much stuff! So, I will hold off posting pictures until I have found a way to get rid of all the extra stuff -- probably until next week.

Also, summer fireworks shows are a big deal in Japan, and I have attended two in the past two weeks, lasting a grand total of 3 hours. And in both places, I had a connection which enabled me to watch the show from a comfortable apartment balcony, instead of jammed in with the thousands and thousands of people on the street. One of these fireworks shows was in Asakusa, a famous Tokyo neighborhood, and I watched it at my friend's nice apartment. The other festival was a part of the activities for the Tanabata Matsuri (festival) in Sendai which I watched with my friends Chie and Daisukes' families.

I went to Sendai this past weekend on the very generous invitation of my friends. In addition to watching the fireworks, we also walked around the festival in traditional Japanese yukatas, and ate delicious food prepared by Chie's mother. I wore tall "geta" sandals.





Nagu had a great time. He seemed to be particularly thrilled to have the opportunity to play with his older cousin, Yu-kun.





During the festival these streamer-type decorations are put up all over the city. No one was able to tell me why, although Chie thought it might have something to do with their resemblance to the Milky Way.




This sign says:
"The booth for fixing yukatas that have come unfastened." The booth is run by the "Association for the Spread of an Ethnic Clothing Culture."