Hana-bi!

On Saturday morning I was awoken at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 am by...fireworks! Yes! Daytime fireworks on the hour every hour! I was not in a good mood when I had to get up for work.


Once my coworkers and I finished our classes for the day, we stepped outside the office to watch Ashikaga's annual hana-bi festival. The fireworks display started at 7:00 and didn't end until 9:00 pm.

For the past month various businesses and offices have had fireworks posters hanging in their windows. The fireworks festival is kind of a big deal.


Vendors began setting up booths and stalls hours before the fireworks even started.


Even the gangstas came out to enjoy the show. Unfortunately for them so did the police.


At the festival they served a lot of food that you would find at a carnival back in the states; fried chicken, icees, and hot dog on a stick. There were also a wide variety of noodle shops and of course squid!



Here is short video of some of the fireworks. My coworkers and I ate fried chicken while I filmed this.



Another action shot.