Everybody knows Nagasaki: it's one of two cities we nuked. Side story of that in Nagasaki part TWO! This past August I went to Nagasaki for a couple days, and even 13 hour jet lag couldn't stop me from having fun!
The Obon festival is three days long, and basically the equivalent of our Memorial day. Japan pays their respects to their ancestors on these days. Read more about it in my Obon Festival blog! I was lucky enough to be in Japan during this festival, which is a great time to experience their culture, food, and traditions. There is always a very long parade where people carry "boats" with little memorials of somebody; they carry these all the way to the ocean, and then send them off into the water. In modern days they no longer do this because litter is bad, but it's the thought that counts. As people walk in the parade, they set off very very very loud fireworks, and sometimes throw them at your feet! This experience was crazy to me because in America this would never be allowed.
I was in Nagasaki with my Miharu-obachan (obachan=aunt), Kazuo-ojichan (ojichan=uncle), and my cousin Satoru. They're Japanese, so they were more interested in the "China" themed street. I ate at one restaurant during my two week stay in Japan, and it was Chinese food. Logic.
There was a really neat street market in Nagasaki, which they call an "arcade". There were hundreds of little tiny shops: clothes, shoes, toys, food, candy, purses, and more. I got most of my souvenirs and gifts here. My mom really likes a certain brand of deodorant from Japan that she stocks up on every time we visit... she bought about 20 cans at one of the shops, and you can imagine the weird looks we were getting! Good times.
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