先週の土曜日は近所の商店街の夏祭りがあった。以前は小さな商店街の手作りの夏祭りであったが、回を追うごとに参加者、来場者が増え続けて、昨年は4万人の人出と地元のニュースで話題になっていた。
午前11時から商店街の通行を禁止して路上での準備の後、夏祭りは午後の2時頃から始まり、ブラスバンドやら、踊りやらの行進もあり、にぎやかである。商店街の通りの両側には嗜好を凝らした屋台が立ち並び、大勢の人出で、歩く事も儘ならない状態であった。
私も夕方になって多少涼しくなってから妻と二人で通りに出て、生ビールと焼きそば、ソーセージや鳥の唐揚げ等を楽しんだ。余りの人の多さに驚いたが、この近所では珍しいお祭りを堪能して、夏本番の気分を味わうことができた。
We had a summer festival of the near-by local shopping street on the last Saturday. Years ago, it was a small, hand-made type summer festival of a small shopping avenue. The festival, however, has grown year by year, attracting greater number of visitors with increasing number of participating shops and organizations. Last year, a local news announced that 40,000 people have participated/visited the festival.
The festival started at 2:30 in the afternoon, after the preparation on the street by blocking the street from 11:00 in the morning. Then the street became busy with a lot of performances including the marching of brass band and contemporary and traditional dances. Both sides of the street were filled with various kind of street shops designed for the festival, and the street was filled with the visitors, making it very difficult to walk through the street.
I have joined into the street together with my wife in the late afternoon when it has cooled down a little. We enjoyed strolling the street, drinking draft beer and eating pan-fried noodles, sausages and fried chickens among others. We were a bit surprised by the greater number of visitors, but enjoyed the summer festival not commonly held in the neighborhood, and the smell of the real summer.
商店街の夏祭りの人込み（A crowd of people at the festival)
太鼓の演奏（Beating TAIKO drums)
色々な売店（Various street shops)
子供も大興奮（Children are excited, too.)
午前11時から商店街の通行を禁止して路上での準備の後、夏祭りは午後の2時頃から始まり、ブラスバンドやら、踊りやらの行進もあり、にぎやかである。商店街の通りの両側には嗜好を凝らした屋台が立ち並び、大勢の人出で、歩く事も儘ならない状態であった。
私も夕方になって多少涼しくなってから妻と二人で通りに出て、生ビールと焼きそば、ソーセージや鳥の唐揚げ等を楽しんだ。余りの人の多さに驚いたが、この近所では珍しいお祭りを堪能して、夏本番の気分を味わうことができた。
We had a summer festival of the near-by local shopping street on the last Saturday. Years ago, it was a small, hand-made type summer festival of a small shopping avenue. The festival, however, has grown year by year, attracting greater number of visitors with increasing number of participating shops and organizations. Last year, a local news announced that 40,000 people have participated/visited the festival.
The festival started at 2:30 in the afternoon, after the preparation on the street by blocking the street from 11:00 in the morning. Then the street became busy with a lot of performances including the marching of brass band and contemporary and traditional dances. Both sides of the street were filled with various kind of street shops designed for the festival, and the street was filled with the visitors, making it very difficult to walk through the street.
I have joined into the street together with my wife in the late afternoon when it has cooled down a little. We enjoyed strolling the street, drinking draft beer and eating pan-fried noodles, sausages and fried chickens among others. We were a bit surprised by the greater number of visitors, but enjoyed the summer festival not commonly held in the neighborhood, and the smell of the real summer.
商店街の夏祭りの人込み（A crowd of people at the festival)
太鼓の演奏（Beating TAIKO drums)
色々な売店（Various street shops)
子供も大興奮（Children are excited, too.)
