Itai Pt 3 - otherwise known as "You know you need a holiday when"

Fireworks.

Need I say more.

(I will but I'm out of time now)

(Don't worry, I do still have all my fingers, just)

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Story -
End of work - decided to have a party to celebrate. Seeing the ready availability of fireworks in Japan, why not a beach Hanabi party? Invited (in secret - as you do) all work colleagues. Two show up (more on that story later) - one also brings her little sister.

It was rainy-ish all day, so we thought fireworks were not going to happen. So after dinner we head to a Snack Bar. One of those seedy establishments I had been warned was a disgusting den of sin. Geez, was I dissapointed. Its a nice (but tiny) bar, with karaoke, and one lady serving (plus one of the regular customers who decided to hop behind the bar and start washing up). So we sing a few songs. Sister-bringer - who took us there to meet here cousin, and a guy they both like (see where this is headed yet) is very quiet and refuses to sing - even though she honestly has a beatiful voice which probably would have impressed the guy. But no, instead she leaves the bar in tears. Which sort of brings the good times to slow stop.

Not to be disuaded from tonights original purpose, I mention fireworks and beach (and possibly skinny dipping) as a suitable finle for tonight's escapades. Thankfully it is a go.

Fireworks in japan rock. Initially we are dismayed by both wnd and moisture preventing us from lighting candles (or even the cigarette lighter). We make the entirely OCHS approved decision to ditch the candles in favur of directly lighting the candles. First it light is a tank. Thats right, a mean looking tank. After about 5 minutes at it, it finally lights and is followed by everyne bracing for cover as a small light shows ensues. So after that semi-dysmal effort we move oto the biggest roket in the bag. Helen volunteers to light this one, it lights - followed by japanese girls running fr cover, it then gets kocked over and points directly at me and cowering Japanese girls. I shit you not I heard and felt this 5 inch rocket go past my ear. Move back to sighty smallly fireworks.

So how did I get injured, if not from the raia oiion of mismanaged rocket? It was a lot nearer the end of the night with a sparkler. Thats right a sparkler. Now, it was't ome piss-sugar sparkler that yu see on birtday cakes, it had at least three times the layers of gunpowder - so these are mean mofo sparklers. Just as mine is about to light, some one deide to hoe their oer the ighter to causing me to jerk my had jut as it expode - ouch. With only salt ocean water to cool it off - this did hurt for the rest of the night or should I say morning - as in a about 20 minutes I saw my first Japanese sunrise. Which was nice, but not smecking impressive for a city called "sunrise".

Best fireworks of the night were mosquito shaped ones which just squeeled and spun into the air spitting sparks.