My last matsuri. :(

Tonight and tomorrow (all day) is one of the summer festivals in Chichibu. It is for the children of the town, so I ran into pretty much every one of my students tonight. It was good, since tomorrow is my last day. I will miss these kids more than I realize.

There are also a lot of beautiful floats...pictures don't really do them justice. You have to hear the banging of the taiko drums and the chanting of the people on the floats to get the real feel. Come to Japan!



Later that evening...


The floats at Chichibu Shrine.


This is where they house the floats. They are all over Chichibu.


I ran into Joey and Juliana (English teachers, but not JETs) and their 6 month old twin babies. Cute.


Some of the students I ran into...at least the ones who didn't run from the camera.
They look so grown up in out of their uniforms.

I can always count on these boys to be willing to take pictures...Keigo, Daichi, and Retsu.


My volleyball girls.


Me, Ryo (former Killer Kid), and his "girlfriend" Kaori (who is also my student.) I ADORE Ryo. I know his life story now and he hasn't had it easy. He has a heart of gold though. One of those kids I'll remember 20 years from now.


More pictures to come...another day of festivities tomorrow.