Yoka Matsuri

Matsuri season kicked off this weekend. We went to Yoka for dinner with Mari's family and the matsuri after. Despite really looking forward to festival food, especially takoyaki and kara-age, Mari's family stuffed us so full that the only thing we could fit was a snowcone.

I really wanted to wear my yukata, but a week of lounging meant that it smelled kinda bad. When Mari saw that I hadn't brought mine, she finagled one out of storage for me. So nice! Her mom did a lot of pulling and tucking, but managed to bundle me into one. Wow. Pretty confining. I got a kick out of taking tiny steps for quite awhile, but the hard-to-breathe factor was a bit rough. Aaron and I both saw tons of our students, and I saw two herds of teachers out on patrol; men in one group, women in another, of course.

As we were walking back, a rainstorm came out of nowhere to soak everything in sight. Absolute mayhem! People running for cover, stall workers trying to secure their booths... It pretty much ended the matsuri, but it was kinda late, so it wasn't too bad.

Sorry, no pics yet. Hopefully we'll exchange with Mari to find the best one for your viewing pleasure!