Festival...Take 2

After the gym today, we headed back to the festival, and I'm so glad that we did because we missed a few small details the night before. 

Like neighborhood decorations....

...the beginning of the procession

...and some not so small things.

We also got to eat some great festival food. I will admit that if you are reading from the U.S., then these dishes could take some getting used to. Some examples are:

Osakayaki: This is like a fritter filled with egg, ham, onion, ginger, and more...topped with mayo

Kakigori: like a snow cone

You can also chow down on things like takoyaki (octopus dumplings), yakitori (skewers of grilled meat), chocolate covered bananas, skewered grilled baby octopus, and much more!!

Note to self....take more food photos next time :)

On another note, today in Japan is the evening of September 11th. The ambassador in Tokyo had a service at his private residence, and I'm sure there were some other remembrance events scattered throughout the country. 9/11 is a tragedy that will never be forgotten. 

Today in Japan also marked six months since the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which has killed more than 15,000 people and has caused thousands more to go missing.

Even as people celebrated things like the coming of fall, I'm sure that thoughts of all of the lives lost never left people's hearts.