We're still in the throes of winter, or what passes for it in northern California, but I thought I'd share an image from a summer festival in Japan. If you're feeling good and chilly already, this should send a shiver down your spine. During a tanabata festival, we caught a shot of this young fellow plunging his arm deep into a bath of ice to plumb for just the right beverage for a customer. When we saw him do this, we had two thoughts. First, this couldn't be comfortable. Second, despite the discomfort, in the high heat and humidity of an August in Tokyo, it may be preferable to consistently standing in the crowd and sweating. I imagine he had an impulse more than once to just plunge his face into the bath. I'm guessing, however, that customers would strongly object to his sweaty brow coming into contact with water that touched a can or bottle that touched their lips. Of course, they didn't seem to care or notice that his sweaty forearm was swirling around in there.
The tanabata festivals were scattered all over Japan at different times of the year. Our local one was actually quite late compared to most of the ones in other parts of Japan. That didn't generally make it any different than the other ones, it was just a lot more uncomfortable due to the increased temperatures.
The tanabata festivals were scattered all over Japan at different times of the year. Our local one was actually quite late compared to most of the ones in other parts of Japan. That didn't generally make it any different than the other ones, it was just a lot more uncomfortable due to the increased temperatures.
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