July 23, 2006

  • Some Pictures from Chofu - Video Added!

    We went to see the Chofu Fireworks tonight, but we watched them from the other Inadazutsumi side of the river, which is less crowded and offers a better view.  The Chofu-Tamagawa side is frighteningly crowded, and there have been instances of people being trampled at fireworks shows in other cities.  The path from Tamagawa Station to the riverbank is solid bodies, take my word for it!  One stands a better chance of survival on the opposite bank from Chofu. 



    The show begins at 7:20, but we left at five to board the train to go the three stations and then walk down to the Tama River.  Even if this side of the river is less crowded, one should still go early if one intends to get a "seat."  Many go earlier in the day and stake a claim on seating with a plastic ground sheet.  We are on a slope, and using a sheet makes you have to fight against sliding to the bottom the entire time, so we roughed it and sat on the flora.



    Sorry this is fuzzy.  It is easiest to get a "bento" meal in a box for dining on the riverbank.  I recommend eating while one can still see and have one's hands free for later camera work.  There are numerous katydids and grasshoppers on the riverbank, too, which may be another reason to eat with the lights on.



    Say it isn't so!  Are those raindrops?



    Here we see fireworks fashion, a light summer "yukata" kimono.  If you see a lady wearing one of these, you know where she is going!



    Here is the opposite bank of the river and hubby enjoying his dinner.  Is it my imagination, or is the Chofu side sinking from the masses bearing down upon it?  I am very glad that I am here and not there.



    The show starts with a series of colorless BANGS which send all of the ducks, cormorants, cranes and crows flying in all directions so escape the noise.  The little bats that have been skimming the surface of the water for gourmet goodies are not fond of the noise, either. 


    I took more videos than pictures this year, and will try to get them into YouTube tomorrow.  I don't know why this picture is red.  Maybe I had something set wrong on the camera, but I like the effect.



    Still shots are nice, but the timing is really hard.  Here are the best still shots.




     





    This video is of my favorite kind of fireworks, the beeeeg ones that are made up of four layers of different colored stars.  This is a series that were fired up.  The only complaint I have is that they were hidden in some cases in the smoke from the previous explosions, but hey, you can't have everything!  Over to the left is "Niagara Falls,"  suspended from two cranes on either side of the river.


    I am going to try to make a link to my YouTube site so you can go and see the other fireworks videos.  Let me know if it is working or not.


    http://www.youtube.com/user/usalapinhazzer




    This is the finale.  The last big bangs tell us the show is over.

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