Tenjin Matsuri Festival

This evening after work I headed to the Tenjin Matsuri Festival, a huuuuuuge summer festival in Osaka. We unfortunately couldn't make it for either of the processions (there was one in the streets at 3:30 and one down the river at 6:00), but we made it in time for the last few hours in the evening, including the fireworks. It was crazy hot and unfathomably crowded, but I had a lot of fun, and after experiencing this kind of big celebration alongside thousands and thousands of people, I really feel like I understand Japan just a bit more than I did this morning. This place is so different than the states, and I'm really glad I came here.

Even getting off the train took forever, it was so crowded

We juuuust missed the procession on the river, I think

 Yesterday I bought a jimbee to wear to the festival, a traditional(ish) outfit with shorts and a loose shirt that wraps and ties like a robe

I opted to try this thin, crispy wafer with an egg and some sort of corn things and mayo on it. It was a little bizarre but otherwise tasty

Also got some yakisoba, noodles fried on a grill

Fireworks! I liked that rather than having one long fireworks show, they would shoot off a bunch for a couple minutes at a time over the course of like two hours

I cannot stress enough how effing crowded it was

Lauren also bought a traditional outfit for the occasion, a yukata

We won some super kawaii glasses at the toss-the-ball-in-the-basket game

Grilled smelt, whole, on a stick

Lots of shaved ice booths, but only this one had these crazy tubes for the syrup

After the fireworks ended we headed to a bridge for one last view of the river before calling it a night

The streets were literally shut down for this thing. If there was ever an event with this many people in the states there would be 1) waaaay more cops 2) waaaaay more trash on the ground 3) riots, probably.

While waiting for a massage at a local clinic (that takes our company health insurance!) I took a gander at a Japanese newspaper

They read in columns, top to bottom, right to left, and the paper opens the opposite direction as ours

Also checked out an all-you-can-eat, fry-it-yourself tempura place for lunch. Not my healthiest meal here yet, but certainly one of my faves

I also went back to Shinsaibashi recently for a little shopping, mostly to try and find some crazy Engrish shirts/hats. None of them were quite funny enough to buy (or if they were, they were women's clothes) but I took pics of some gems

Also, I found an Olive Garden! Definitely not the American chain restaurant but Italian nonetheless.

Oh, are you now?

Found this in a used clothing shop, whaaaaaaat

Also found a shirt with my name and the London skyline on it. Alas, it was too small.

Later that night we went back to the okonomiyaki place in Tempozan omnomnom

This time we sat right in front of the kitchen and got to watch them make it

I'm sure after a while I'll stop taking pictures of it every time I go there...but that time has not yet come

Ok, Japanese people love them some white bread, and they love putting weird stuff between pieces of it. This is a dessert sandwich at a convenience store, with honeydew melon and what looks like whipped cream on white bread. Yeah, no thanks, Japan.