I went to Bon dance Festival.(WATASHI WA BON-ODORI TAIKAI E ITTEKIMASHITA) 
Bon Dance Festival is opened in various parts of Japan in summer.
"Bon" is a festival that comforts ancestral spirits.
And,people in the village and the town gather, and it dances to the drum, the whistle, and the song.
...Actually, comfortable festival, it reels and it enjoys that all gather on the night of summer. (NATSU NO YOI)
Though the country might be the same, it is a social party (SHAKOUBA) of the family with their children and the grandpa grandmas.
Though it was a long silence(GOBUSATA) having gone when I am also small for 20 years,I decides to go to Bon Dance Festival with my children opened near the parents' family.
We went to a big park where it takes five minutes
from the parents' family house arround 7pm.
When we approaches to the hall, the music of the Bon Festival Dance is heard,
furthermore everyone has already danced. 
They dances surroundings of the tower put on the center of the plaza while turning round and round.
Women who takes the kimono (in generally, it is called YUKATA in Japan) has the dance lesson are very good dancer.
When there are such women in some places at the circle, all members can dance to copy cat to them.(MANE TE ODORU KOTO GA DEKIMASU)
These are usual girls.(not learn)
I was surprised.
Because they dance well.
They're sure to practice beforehand, I think.
I entered the circle because it seemed to be happy ,
though I was not able to dance at all.
Amazingly, I can dance somehow by watching and imitating like it.
It just a Japanese gene～. 
My children also participated (SANNKA SHIMASHITA) wearing YUKATA.
My daughter's YUKATA is Kitty's pattern. 
My son woar JINBEI with Japanese classic pattern sold in kimono shop.
It is a price about three times daughter's YUKATA.
Traditional coloring of Japan is very chic.
Bon Dance Festival not only dances
but also various shows,
and the night stalls are opened.
This is balloon hanging.
(KORE WA FU-SEN TSURI)
The rubber band has placed to the balloon,
and you hang it with thin paper that applies the hook.
Because the balloon is floated on water,
If you don't hang it on the rubber band well,
paper gets wet at once and it cuts.
The neighborhood association planned
this Bon Festival Dance.
So, shoppers of the night stalls are
member of neighborhood the senior citizens .
Here is a lot.(KOCHILA WA KUJI)
You can get SUPER BALL that you draw its number.
It is possible to challenge twice for 100 yen
both the ballon hanging and the lot.
My child really wanted to do,
so he was very seriously. 
To tell the truth,
In Japan ,it overflows the thing today,
they don't usually look round such a toy.
However,they absorbed in that as for the festival.
It doesn't change old times and now. 
He draw considerably good lot.(KANARI II KUJI WO HIITAMITAI)
He get a big size.
It twinkles as you confined tonight memories.
Upon seeing your blog, I missed my sister-in-law who works and lives in Japan for about 20 years now. She last visited us here in the Philippines about 5-6 years ago. We haven't see personally her daughter and we can't stop imagining what she looks like. I think all Japanese girls looks alike specially in their national costume.
such a lovely blog
was in Japan at APU --Beppu May 2009 and was
very happy going to Japan
THANKS 4 BRINGING ALL THE PLAESENT MEMORIES BACK
VERY NICE PHOTOS specially of the flowers and the aquqrium reminding me of the Emperors garden and the Sea world
i liked your site very much. i visited japan(tokyo,kyoto,osaka and sendai) in 1979 for only about ten days. it was an invitation tour and for a short period only. so i missed many parts of japan and its lovely culture etc. i wish to visit again in future. my last visit memory still afresh. thanks.
Yes, there are different colors and shapes of watermelon. In my country (Hungary), when I was a I child we always had round and dark green watermelon in summers. But for a few years the oval with stripes is more common. But is is not so sweet as the dark green - although it has less seed inside :)
I have never seen this shape on the market, it looks funny:
http://m.blog.hu/mi/milliomosbolcsode/image/g%C3%B6r%C3%B6gdinnye_n%C3%A9gyzetes.jpg
Look, what a beauty watermelon art I have found:
http://ruudvisser.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/watermelon_448.jpg
We like fireworks very much in russia as well. When we weren't able to buy it in 90s we made it ourselves from scratches. But we prefer to use it in New Year Day. It is amazing when almost from every window and yard you can see launching rockets. Whole sky is covered by flame in that time. And we had hardly heard each other because of sound of hundreds exploisions.