At the station

 I was at the station waiting for a bus to go to my exercise class, so I thought I would take some pictures while I waited. The roof of the station starts over these two offices and the taxi stand. The office on the left, the one with people coming out the door, is the real estate agency where we rented our apartment. It is called Next Step and the name is phonetically spelled out above the door in Japanese katakana.

 

 This is the bus depot. The train station is actually on the second floor on the right but it is across the road. There is a wide covered pedestrian bridge over the street.

 The box, outlined in white, just above the Coca Cola sign is an interface that allows you to use a cell phone to pay for your drink. The charges are, I think, added to your phone bill. I do not have a phone that has this feature and I do not plan to get on, but they are very popular. Many subways and trains, especially in the big cities, have this way of paying. Also most convenience stores and more and more other stores are offering the service. I believe that it is safer than a credit card because you have to have the phone in your hand. I expect that this is going to spread and eventually become one of the main ways of paying for things.

The end of the festival

 We decided to go home but stopped on the way to watch the dancing groups.

 One of these young ladies appeared on one of the previous pictures. The group moves and timing were astoundingly good. They must have spent many hours preparing.

 This man is playing a three stringed traditional instrument called a shamisen. I think he may have been a professional musician. During his gig, he played both traditional songs and current pop hits.

On the way home we stopped inside the station building so that my granddaughter could get some candy. She said that she had a very good time so we were all happy we came.

People and yukatas

 This booth is selling kakigori, shaved ice with a sweet syrup, which is about the same as what we called snow cones when I lived in the US. They are a favorite at festivals and many coffee shops and restaurants also served them in the summer. The coffee shop versions are often very elaborate with bean paste, ice cream and fruit added on top. They are really great on a hot summer day.

 Just some blurry people. The young girl in silver was part of a group that performed a dance routine.

This booth was surprisingly serving hot coffee among other things. Notice the young woman in the traditional clothing. This is called a yukata and may be worn by both males and females. They are summer wear, light and much cooler than a kimono. Many young women and an occasional man will wear them to festivals but you no longer see them around town. When I first came to Japan, there were extremely common during the summer. I even had one that I wore in public, going shopping in the neighborhood and that sort of thing. It is a shame that people have stopped wearing them. They are very comfortable.

Games and toys

 This is my granddaughter (on the right) trying to get a balloon, called a yoyo because it is on an elastic so you can bounce it up and down. You pay your money and get a piece of twisted tissue paper with a metal hook at the end. The balloons have a ring but it is under water. If you take too long, the paper falls apart and you lose the hook. My granddaughter was having trouble on the woman on the left who had taken her money, helped her hook a balloon. She went away very happy, bouncing the balloon up and down.

This is a large table where they were selling children's toys of all kinds, but mostly cheap plastic things that the kids really like.