Summer festival

Two years ago, Yukari was here in her hometown of Muikamachi with Luke during the local matsuri (summer festival). Each town in Japan hosts its own summer festival during either July or August, and they generally feature local dancing and customs. And, like festivals everywhere, there are plenty of food stands and carnival games that line the streets of town.

This year we were happy to have several children around to enjoy the evening walking through the festival area of town. Unfortunately, Ian is too young to go, but Luke had a few of his cousins to show him the way this year. They also each wore a yukata -- a light cotton kimono, that is the traditional summer dress for walking around town in the evening.