I was super stoked to learn that the summer festivals weren’t canceled this year in Japan. After the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, several events and festivals in the springtime were canceled due to mourning and also due to energy conservation efforts. However, in an effort to cheer up Japan and keep spirits high, local governments have decided to go forward with their summer traditions, even if it meant scaling them down. While my brother-in-law Jerome was in town, we wanted to take him out for a traditional Japanese summer festival so we decided to take the trains out to Hiratsuka in Kanagawa Prefecture for the 61st annual Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival. We bought him a jinbei so he could dress the part. Nick and I also wore jinbei. I was at this festival 3 years ago with my friend Sachiko. I wore a yukata that day for the first time with her mother’s help. I bought a yukata to wear for festivals this year in Japan, but I’ve decided to save it to wear to a fireworks festival. At night. When it’s not so hot. That’s why I also picked up a jinbei for myself.

So pretty!!!

My friend, Jamie, tells me that this guy is actually pretty popular and she’s seen him on TV! This man had a CRAZY hat on and he really loved all the camera attention. He even performed by doing a little kick and punch while walking our way.

It’s tradition on Tanabata to write your wishes on little strips of paper. Tanabata is also known as the “star festival”, takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year. According to a Chinese legend, the deities Orihime (the star “Vega”) and Hikoboshi (the star “Altair”) were lovers. Orhime was a weaver, and the daughter of Tentei (the Sky King, or the universe itself). She always worked very hard, and her father was worried about her love life so he arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi, a cow herder, who lived on the other side of the Heavenly River (the Milky Way). When the two met, they instantly fell in love and married, however they became lazy at their work because they always spent their time together. This angered her father, and so he separated them across the Heavenly River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became very depressed and cried constantly. Tentei, moved by his daughter’s tears, decided that they could meet but only once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet however, they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised ot make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, that the river overflows and the magpies cannot come, so the two lovers must then wait until the next year to meet. It’s really a sad story, but it makes for beautiful and colorful traditions and festivals. Actually, it rained this year on July 7th, so I felt a little sad for Orihime and Hikoboshi. The festival in Hiratsuka took place however after the rain passed, from July 8th – 10th.

Back to the festival… the last time we came here, we were stuffed full with my friend’s mom’s cooking. She had cooked her specialty dishes and also ordered a huge party tray of sushi. We were so full that we couldn’t eat anything at the festival. So this time, I was really excited to check out the different food stalls.

Check out those huge okonomiyaki!

And meat on a stick!

And kakigori! This was really fun because you could build your own with custom flavors. I chose melon, strawberry, and Blue Hawaii.

I took a bunch of photos. If you’d like to see the whole set, check out my Flickr.