Yodogawa Fireworks

Another late post. Back in early August Ulala and i had the pleasure of watching the Yodogawa Fireworks (one of the larger shows of Japan`s summer fireworks season) from the comfort of Mark`s house. This was great because it meant hanging out with friends without fighting the noisy crowds of thousands that always swarm the riverside for this event. It also meant that when a sudden thunder and lightning storm was unleashed upon Osaka a mere thirty minutes before the start of the fireworks, we were safe and dry and not fighting the noisy (and now wet and cranky) crowds of thousands. Surprisingly enough, the show went on as scheduled. Almost as scheduled, anyway. They started a few minutes early and rushed through the "sets" of colourful explosions.

When the rain first started the streets were crowded with festival-goers who suddenly decided to turn around and head back to the station, think ing the show would be cancelled. When the fireworks started, they turned around again and two rushing flows of humanity collided and spilled into the roads, blocking traffic both ways and generally causing mayhem as everyone tried not to run over each other or get run over and still crane their necks to see the fireworks - often stopping right in the street to do so. Add to this the fact that they all had umbrellas and you have one very bizarre sight which i am thankful that i watched from the safety and dryness of Mark`s balcony.

Despite the rain and the chaos, it was still spectacular. And Mark`s apartment just overlooking Nakatsu station provided a magnificent view of the fireworks over the busy city streets. I tried to get a few good pictures with my cheap and now aging old Nikon, but mostly i just sipped beer and watched in awe.

As a footnote, i would like to add that the rain began just before the fireworks were scheduled to start and then cleared to reveal a beautiful moon and almost cloudless sky only moments after they were scheduled to stop.