Yep, summer is all about festivals in Japan. And nothing say "festival" in Japanese quite like fireworks. Sunday I went to the last day of the Gero Matsuri, located conveniently enough, in Gero. Which is just under an hour south of Takayama. Since I still can't drive, I took the train. The same train, it seems, that everyone else was taking. It was so packed that my friends Gavin and Theresa were unable to get on it in Hagiwara and had to drive ^o^ *shock* You would not believe how hot it was on that train. Then again, maybe you would.
Anyway, like I said, festivals in Japan are all about the fireworks. And Gero didn't disappoint.
What I especially enjoyed about the fireworks in Gero is how they paired them with music. Nothing says Japan like Indiana Jones!
The other feature of Japanese festivals are the prevalence of yukata (summer kimono) and jimbe (a traditional summer clothing for men, resembling pajamas in the west). This summer I decided that I too, would jump on the yukata bandwagon, and I bought myself one. And believe it or not, I was actually able to dress myself in it on only my 3rd time ever wearing one!
Dressing oneself in a yukata may not sound like that great of an accomplishment, but it's considerably more difficult than the everyday skill of donning, say, a pair of pants. Not only do you have to measure out the proper length of fabric to fold over at the waist, you also have at least 2 ties under the obi (belt), a clip thing to keep it shut, a board to shove under the front of the obi to keep it looking nice and flat, and then there's the art of tying the obi itself. Which is no easy task, especially when you're doing it on yourself. And you've got 10 minutes until the train arrives. I'd say I still have a long way to go before I've mastered the art of obi tying (if that's even possible), but I think I did a decent enough job for my first try ^_^
Lucky for me, there are still plenty of festivals left before the end of summer, so I've got ample opportunity to practice!
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