Look at how big this kite is and how many people are working to get it flying!
Whoa!
There it goes!
Fish kites
They had three of these giant kites flying at the same time!
Here's a group flying one out in the rice fields. Notice that it is tethered to the truck!
Another funny Japanese sign that I assume is telling you not to litter.
Hello! Wow, it's been forever since I posted here. Craziness! We're doing fine here in Japan. The weather is gorgeous today, which is a nice change because just yesterday we had a river going down our street from all the rain.
This week has been good and I have some fun stuff to show you. On Monday, I went to the big kite festival that they have every year near our house. The kites are HUGE and they require several people---like maybe 20---to lift them. The kites are tethered to a bulldozer or large vehicle to make sure they don't blow away. I guess a few years ago one of the kites came loose and hurt some of the people watching the event, but of course I found out about this after I went. That's okay, though. If I had known, I might have stayed home. Tuesday was Children's Day, and in honor of that day Japanese families fly kites in the shape of fish. They had several of those kites flying at the festival as well.
Yesterday I got brave and took the train (okay, a few trains---the Tokyo transit system is not to be taken lightly) into Tokyo to attend the annual Hobby Show at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. What a day! I think I spent close to five hours there just wandering around and checking out all the cool crafts. One of the big features of the show is that you can pay a small fee and do make-and-take projects at the different vendors' booths. I only did two make-and-take projects (painting a picture with these awesome watercolor pencils, and making a yarn lei with novelty yarn), but I watched lots of people working on several different kinds of crafts. Beading was very popular, as well as scrapbooking, needlepunched felt food, and plastic food made with soft modeling clay. I unfortunately was not allowed to take photos, so you'll have to use your imagination I guess.
Okay, that's about it from here!
