‘Neath the Falling Ashes

Today I met Shiho, and we went for lunch in Osaka. I have enjoyed seeing the beautiful traditional clothes being worn by Japanese men, women, children, and a foreigner or so. Shiho has been helping me learn about Japanese culture. She tells me that this day is special as it is one of only two days a year when you can see so many traditional garbs! They are called yukatas and are different from kimonos.
My lunch was in a modern/traditional restaurant. We went there because they had soba noodles with green onions. The rest of my lunch included seaweed, peanuts, deep fried bean curd, konjak (a Japanese plant) rice, Japanese tea, daikon radish, kinako and mochi, tempura (shrimp, carrot, lotus, pumpkin, and mushroom). Mochi is a gooey rice cake that looks like pudding. All that cost only $12 USD. It was very yummy, and it was even more enjoyable as we got to eat the little Japanese table with our shoes off! :)

After lunch, Shiho and I did some shopping. I am really not a big shopper, but it was a good time with Shiho. You could get anything you’d want at this place too! We also went to the Sky Building. This building is 40 stories tall, has an innovative design, and gives you a breath-taking view of the whole city! :) My favorite part was the cool escalator that connects the two buildings making up the Sky Building. You are literally transported at about 38 stories high from one building to the other. It truly rocks!

The time came next for us to head to the riverside spot to prepare for the fireworks show. (There is actually a similar show in Kobe too, but it is smaller. Thus, we came here.) As we walked on the street, we stopped to get some food to take with us for dinner. The little stand where we stopped gave only us six kabobs for the price of one! They were so nice and refused to take more money. Shiho and I also got some food down beside the river at the fireworks site. It was so yummy and wonderful to eat on the grassy outfield of a baseball field. :)

The fireworks started at 8:00 PM. They were so lovely! I enjoyed watching them and listening to the many Japanese people oooooh and ahhhhh. This was definitely not only memorable because it was so lovely but also because the ash from the fireworks literally fell on us! It was due to the direction of the wind. Though it was a bit messy and painful (some went in my eye) it was extremely enjoyable and lovely. About three hours later, I finally arrived back at the hotel.