Maebashi Fireworks!

I have come to accept the fact that the weather forecast app is never accurate for Gunma. The past few weeks it has constantly said that the weather will be rainy/stormy, but it never has been! Today’s forecast also said rainy and black clouds, but it was super sunny all the way!

Woke up quite late at 10:00am this morning, and did some video/photo editing and cleaning the house before going out at 12:00 for lunch! I went with two other ALT friends to Kura Sushi again, cause their sushi is just so cheap and delicious! Plus I really wanted to drink the Shari-Cola again! There was quite a queue today since it’s the weekend, but we didn’t have to wait too long before we got seated.

After that super yummy feast we went to Hard Off, a second hand store on the same road, and we browsed there for so long! There was just so much to see in there – furniture, clothes, household items, then a whole second floor of audio visual gear, with tons of CDs, DVDs, gaming consoles, games, cameras, instruments, all sorts! Plus everything is kept in top notch condition, and the store cleans and restores it so well that it almost seems new, but at much less the price of what you would pay for if you got it new. We definitely decided we would frequent this store again the future! After that we went to Daiso to pick up a few things (I needed a sunhat and a picnic mat for tonight’s fireworks!) before heading to the station. We relaxed at Starbucks for a bit, and I got to try their new S’mores frappe! It was so good – it had some crispy cracker bits in it that didn’t even get soggy in the drink? And the malt chocolate flavor of it was delicious too!

We took the 17:45 train to Maebashi, and then walked to where the fireworks were being held. There were quite a few food stalls selling the same festival food as usual. Now about Maebashi’s fireworks festival – IT WAS SO AMAZING! In comparison to Takasaki’s fireworks, these were on a whole new level. They didn’t hold back at all and let the fireworks loose into the skies constantly! There were also different “programs” that they would announce before showing it. Musical accompaniment and choreographed shows made the fireworks so much more beautiful, and they had this one section where the whole bridge was lit up with fireworks so that it was like a waterfall – we didn't see this one too well since we couldn't get a spot in front of the river. But the whole show was super enjoyable and I loved it!

The show started at 19:20 and ended around 20:30. We made our way back to the station slowly and I finally got back home at around 22:30! The walk from the fireworks location to Maebashi station was longer than expected. A great night though – the fireworks were truly lovely!