Obon!

(Note* O-kun and B-Chan are code names for the other ALT's. I didn't ask them if it was alright to use their names in the blog.)

Obon was about two weeks ago now. Obon is a three day Buddhist event in which the spirits of the ancestors come back to visit their relatives. Families clean the graves of their relatives and provide food offerings at grave sites and temples. How people celebrate differs from region to region. This also time when people all over Japan visit their hometowns. So it's a big family event! This will probably be the only time when Iki is crazy with the traffic.

Oh..and my massive error. We (we being O-kun, B-chan) left the festival in Ishida early. On the drive home from Gonura, after taking B-chan home, we could see the fireworks light up the sky in the distance. When we got to Ishida, I thought we could catch the last bit of the fireworks. Well, when I pulled into the parking lot, the fireworks finished and we got caught in traffic. It took us almost 30 minutes to get home when usually it's a 2 minute car ride.

As the Conductor says..."massive error."

Kids playing tug-o-war

Some Lanterns at a stand
A woman doing the Bon Dance