Fireworks, crowds and karaoke!

Continuing with the festival.... Evening fell and as we wandered through food stalls and games, we followed the sound of fireworks in the distance. On the way we passed people selling chicken satay, pinapples and grapes on a stick (for $3 each! fruit is so expensive here!), and assorted grilled squids and other creepy seafood. It actually smelled really delicious, but it was just too hot to eat hot food, so I settled for a pinapple stick. Fantastic! So sweet and sticky :)

We finally found the place they were setting off fireworks, a bridge over the main river, with a view of Osaka Castle in the distance. It was really beautiful, but the place was packed with people. Some policemen were passing us with megaphones yelling something in Japanese, but we didn`t let that stop us. Off we went, following the crowd to the other side of the bridge. HUGE mistake! Before we knew it, we were trapped in a crowd of unimaginable size! This picture does not even do it justice. People were literally smacked right up against each other and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn`t get anywhere, not back or forward. I started to feel really panicked, especially when some drunk kids started pushing each other. What a scary feeling, to actually think you might be trampled. But, just when I thought I was going to freak out, I saw a kid, no more than 4 years old with her dad. She was smiling and talking as if this was the most normal situation ever. I thought, if this kid can stay calm, so can I. Finally, a policeman cut his way through the crowd with his arm up, indicating "Everyone who wants to get out of here, follow me." We let ourselves get caught up in the flow of people, and in less than a minute we were free!

After all that excitement, we decided we deserved a drink or two or five. So, we bought a few six packs at the Family Mart and played drinking games in the hotel. Then we went out for karaoke!! Here`s a few shots of the gang, partying like rockstars ;)

As you can see, it`s not like American karaoke where you have to make a fool out yourself in front of an entire bar. In Japan, you`re free to act as silly as you like in the comfort of a private room.

What a night!