After returning from Walayama in the early afternoon, and after resting a little, I made my way by subway to Tenjin Bashi and the Tenma Jingu shrine, where the festival was underway.
I was a bit early, as everything became more festive as darkness approached, but I enjoyed this festival immensely. I was a bit lost at first, not being sure where it began or finished, and finally discovered that the festival covers several blocks, and maybe nobody was sure when/where the O-Mikoshi would be, and when the boats would do their floating. Definitely, nobody could tell me exactly what time the fireworks would start, or from where!
However, I walked around the streets, made my way to the river, watched some boats, talked to some local yatai (food stall) operators, and enjoyed a beer and yakitori while waiting for the fireworks.
However - as I was sitting under some lovely trees, at 8 p.m., when the fireworks began, my view was largely obscured! I wasn't too bothered by this, actually, as I was really enjoying myself eating grilled ayu fish, and suitably impressing the chef for my Japanese way of eating the whole thing...!
[caption id="attachment_1775" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Festival Boat, before sunset"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1776" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Ayu on the grill"]
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