Day 2 found us in Kesennuma, in the northeast reaches of Miyagi Prefecture. How would it stack up against Natori?

Not. Well.

The day started off well enough. We set off early snaking our way through the backroads of Miyagi, and arrived with plenty of time to spare. Tony (my co-worker) and I developed a good system, well good for me at least. I would always drive to the festivals, and he would always drive back, allowing me to drink my face off.

Anyways, we arrived early and got some primo parking at the designated event parking area. The guys manning the lot were nice enough and they gave us some maps and recommended some places to watch the fireworks from. Things were looking good.

The festival area snaked all around Kesennuma’s harbour. At one end were all the food and drink stalls; at the other was the Taiko (drum) demonstration area. It was maybe one kilometer from one end to the other, and we strolled around, checking things out and looking for a good place for the fireworks.

We ended up choosing the top of the fish market, where there was a giant empty parking lot. It was at the other end of the festival area though, so we trudged back through the crowds. By the time we got there it had filled up quite a bit, but we still found a good spot to sit. Here’s where the trouble began. Soon after we set up, this East Indian family flew in on their magic carpet and plunked down right in front of us, full of screaming babies and annoying kids. To boot, they decided to sit on little chairs, so I now had these fucking heads in all of my shots. Everyone else is sitting on the ground, SIT THE FUCK DOWN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. The mother was completely ignoring her screaming baby, as if its shrieking was somehow a benefit to society.

Answer this equation for me: Screaming Baby + ________ = Good Times.

I can’t think of anything that fills in the blank. Thankfully it stopped, or maybe I went completely deaf, I can’t remember.

The fireworks ended up sucking anyways; just like Onagawa there was no wind to blow away the smoke. If you’re in the neighbourhood next year, don’t bother with this one. Head up to Kitakami in Iwate Prefecture instead, which is where we went the very next day…

After kicking off the summer festival season in Shiogama and the disappointment of Onagawa, things really got into gear with 3 festivals in 3 days. Here’s the first one, Natori.

The Natori Summer Festival is held at the beginning of August every year. As we arrived just as the fireworks began, so we didn’t have any time to look around or see what events happened earlier in the day. Natori is just south of Sendai on the Pacific coast. Most everyone congregated near the water, as they had both aerial and marine fireworks. Tony and I found a small patch of concrete to set up on, where we could use our tripods. The launch site must have been pretty close; some of the fireworks felt like they were right on top of us.

The fireworks were very impressive; we weren’t sure what to expect but they were much better than Onagawa’s. Like most firework events located in a town or city, finding a place to sit can be difficult at best, and the various booths selling food, alcohol, and toys will always be busy and crowded. Nothing like a rush hour train ride in Tokyo though!

If you happen to make it out there, be sure to come very early, at least 2 hours before the fireworks are scheduled to begin. Access to this small coastal town is quite restricted; we were in gridlock for at least an hour.

Kicking off the fireworks season for me this summer was the Shiogama Minato (Port) Matsuri (Festival), located on the Pacific coast in Miyagi Prefecture. It was my first big driving trip, and getting there was a complete disaster, but ultimately Kyoko and I arrived, minds and bodies intact.

Highlights included some gamey deer yakitori, the segregated porta-potties, and being so close to the fireworks that our eardrums almost exploded and shrapnel rained down upon us. If you’re in the area next year, spend the afternoon taking in the sights at Matsushima, then head over to Shiogama for the fireworks in the evening.

*Edit: Now that I’ve gone back over the videos from Shiogama, this may have been the 3rd or 4th best fireworks events I saw this summer. We were right on the water, where we could easily see all three launch sites, and that third launch site was crazy huge… Here’s the video!