Lake Toya Fireworks

Lake Toya in Hokkaido has fireworks on the lake through out summer.

Hachinohe Sansa Taisai

Another major summer festival in the Tohoku region.  This one is in the city of Hachinohe. The floats used in the festival fold up so they can fit through the narrow parts of the streets and under power lines.

Doing Okay

Apparently there was a reasonably sized earthquake in Northern Japan but didn't feel it where I am. No risk of a tsunami.

Morioka Sansa Odori

Morioka is in northern Japan and every year they have a four day dance festival in the streets.

Osaka again

Back in Osaka. Was originally planning to go to a festival but the city is so hot and humid so decided to seek shelter in the air-conditioning underground malls and shopping centres. In the evening I checked out the hotel's bar as I had a welcome drink voucher.

The Walkman is 40 years old

Sony is celebrating the 40the anniversary of the Walkman with a display at the site of the old Sony building, which is currently a temporary park.

Sumida River Fireworks

The 90 minute Sumida River Fireworks is one of Japan's major fireworks display. It draws around a million people to the banks of the Sumida. I was lucky enough to have a view from my hotel room.

Tenjin Festival

The Tenjin Festival in Osaka is one of Japan's major festivals.  One of the features of this festival is a boat parade in the evening along with fireworks.

Gion Festival, the second parade.

I got a chance to see the second parade in it's entirety from a shady spot before heading off to Osaka.

The following day

Due to the amount of run-off from yesterday's storms, the main river that runs through Kyoto was flowing much faster than usual.

Thunderstorms

Was taking a break from the heat before heading off to another festival when a major thunderstorm went through Kyoto. It turned the garden outside into a little bit of a pond. A major weather alert was issued so I decided to forgoe the festival as over 50 mls of rain per hour was forecast.

Terrace Dining

Kyoto is very hot and humid in summer and because it is surrounded by mountains on three sides, it doesn't get much in the ways of a breeze. One of the ways the locals try to keep cool is called Kawadoko. This is outdoor eating done on a platform over the river. The place I went to for a Kawadoko lunch was in Takao in the hills of Kyoto.

Gion Festival floats on display

Some of the floats used in the Gion Festival are displayed on the street for several days after the first parade. At night they are lit up.

Back in Kyoto.

I'm now back in Kyoto and staying at one of my favourites,  Yoshi-ima. This time my room isn't in the main building but is in a detached building in the garden.

Beer Terrace in Kashihara

It's hot and humid and looking like rain, so I decided not to head of to some fireworks quite a distance from my hotel and sit in the hotels summer beer Terrace. Beer gardens are a big thing for summer over here and are basically an open area with BBQ food and drinks. Kashihara is not really on the foreign tourist map, although it has lots of historical sites. The Kashihara hotel where I'm staying does have one person on staff who is fluent in English as she is from Melbourne, Australia...

Imai-cho

Imai-cho is an district in Kashihara,  south of Nara, wher a lot of old buildings still remain. Nice to meander around in and found an interesting eclectic Cafe.

Universal Studios Japan.

Universal Studios have a theme park in Osaka and seems to have similar attractions as their Us counterpart with a few Japanese additions. They are currently running a Cool Japan summer event with three rides based on popular Japanese animations: Sailor Moon, Attack on Titan and Evangeline Vs Godzilla. I had an express pass which included all three. They were a lot of fun and what they call 4D rides, which means 3D glasses and chairs that move and spray air/water. The Harry Potter part of the park was impressive just due to the scale.