Fireworks

I went to the Sumidagawa Fireworks tonight. At first I wasn't all that enthusiastic about going because it is the biggest display in Tokyo - that means fifty million people go. Ok, maybe only forty;) I don't know the real numbers, but think jammed. As it turned out, it was much less crowded than I thought. Maybe because there was a 90% chance of thunderstorms (which never materialized) or because it was so hot.

We met up at Asakusabashi station and walked up the main road to Asakusa (two subway stops). All of the side streets going to the river were blocked off so we couldn't get an unobstructed view. I'm not sure if it was because of crowding or because of danger. I have been to many fireworks displays, but I have never had burning ash fall on me before. Yes, there were all kinds of pieces of paper from the fireworks falling, many of them still smoldering! By the end of the evening I had all kinds of black marks on my shirt, ash in my hair, and black marks on my skin down inside my shirt! I guess we were close!

We eventually found a decent view in front of the main gate to Asakusa shrine. The weather today was rather foggy, so the smoke wasn't dispersing. I have a great pic of this giant smoke plume obscuring the fireworks. I'll try to post it in the next few days.

After the fireworks finished, we bolted across the street to Denny's (same name but totally different menu) - we still ended up having to wait 45 minutes for a table. That was better than crowding into the trains though! We eventually left just after 11 and people were still cramming into the trains, so Denny's was a good idea I think.