Hanabi
It’s summer time in Japan right now. Freaking warm! Hot and humid and sticky. The cicadas go nuts, the rainy season dumps down on us, and in late July and August, the hanabi bloom.
Hanabi (hana 花: flower and bi 火: fire) means fireworks! It’s a summer institution in Japan. Everyone, men and women alike, dress up in yukata, which is a summer kimono and head out on hot summer nights to line the riverbanks or seashore. There, they watch literally thousands of fireworks explode in the night sky.
There’s no obvious story behind the fireworks, like there is in Hong Kong and China during Lunar New Year celebrations. The only announcements that you might get thanks to the corporate sponsors. Think of it as another hanami party.
That is, dress up, go out, get drunk, get crushed on the last train home. Rinse, repeat.
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