This is it! The fireworks - what we came to see. They were kind of far away and there was a hotel partially in the way for the lower ones, but big, high ones like this were clear to see! They had some really great effects - love hearts, smiley faces, and interesting shapes like this one. Another style I really liked was where a big one exploded in a traditional round shape, but then the individual sparks would suddenly zip off in random directions like a startled school of fish or fireflies.

Plenty of girls wear yukata (cotton kimonos for summer) to festivals in Japan. Some of them go to a lot of trouble with their hair and so on. Leah and her sister both wore yukatas but I was happy in jeans!