Sumida River Fireworks

Went to the Sumida River Fireworks with Germ and his friend Maryann. The Sumida River fireworks show is one of the biggest in Tokyo, attracting around 1 million people every year.

Finally got to wear my yukata (a summer kimono made of cotton). Had to start dressing an hour before departure time because tying the obi (belt) is complicated. Thankfully, Germ and I managed to wear our yukatas without any major problems.

Went to Sumida River 3 hours before the fireworks were scheduled to begin to chope seats...only to find that most available ground was already reserved by the ubiquitous blue groundsheets you find at all Japanese outdoor events. Nevertheless, we found what we thought was a good site and sat down to enjoy ourselves.

Kanpai!

The secret to having a good time while waiting for 3 hours in the summer heat: yummy bento boxes, cold beer and ipod with speakers (we were the envy of everyone walking by).

Happiness is being being able to wear that pretty yukata that's been hanging in your closet for the last 9 months (finally!).

The entire stretch along the river got so unbelievably packed as it got later

When the fireworks started...oh no! We realised that we were blocked by the trees and hurriedly moved to the standing crowd where we could partially see the fireworks through the trees. The fireworks were not the best I've seen, but it was fun getting dressed up for the festival and doing the whole bento and drinking thing while waiting.

When the thing ended, the streets and train station were so jammed up that police was mobilised to control the crowd.

We sat by the road side (all the cafes were full!) and waited for almost an hour before the queue to enter the train station cleared.