Fireflowers in Uji

The Japanese word for fireworks in hanabi, or flower fire. I think that this is a much lovelier term than fireworks, after all , what does the "works" part actually stand for? At any rate, on Wednesday night was a big fireworks show in the nearby town of Uji, and Hunter and I decided we'd have a look.

Before we could watch the fireworks, first we had to get there. The train to Kyoto was not too bad, a little crowded, but you get that sometimes. However, the train from Kyoto to Uji was something else entirely. We walked along the platform looking for a carriage that had room for another two. There wasn't one. Eventually, we did what any normal Japanese person would do; we picked a carriage that was already overflowing, with people already in the doorway such that the doors wouldn't close without some readjustment of limbs, and just proceeded to get on. Somehow, bodies were readjusted to allow the two of us to get on, and also another couple of people who got on after us. Initially, I thought I could go to sleep and still remain propped up by the people around me, but after a while, somehow, people rearranged themselves (I think there was a bit more room towards the middle of the carriage), and while it was still too close for comfort, at least I was no longer bum to bum with the guy behind me.

Once we got off the train, the crowds did not get any better, however after a long walk, and a longer queue to get some food, we found a pretty decent vantage point. The fireworks were impressive. I haven't seen live fireworks since I was about 15, so I thoroughly enjoyed the loud bright explosions and the smell of gunpowder. Towards the end, they had a bit of fun making the fireworks explode to form stars, smiley faces, and other shapes, some more recognisable than others. Almost as fun as watching the fireworks was listening to the exclamations of the Japanese people around us. I'm sure an Australian crowd wouldn't have made so many exclamations along the lines of "so cool", "cute" and "wow". I tested out the fireworks setting on my camera, but this disappointed somewhat, and I didn't manage to get much in the way of good photos.

Probably the best fireflower photo I got

The moon put on a steady if not flashy show

Getting home was even more fun than getting there. Hunter and I started heading back to the station at the end of the second last round of fireworks. This meant that we were towards the head of the queue, but what a queue. I think two trains for Kyoto left before we got on one. Fortunately, the trains were leaving in pretty quick succession, but it was still quite a wait. It was amazing how orderly everyone was. People just did what they were told, as various police and rail staff directed people, and stopping the flow to ease congestion at points ahead. The train was just as packed as on the way in, but we were lucky enough to get one seat between the two of us.