[ The 4th

Yesterday was July 4th in the US, and as has become a tradition for me over the
past few years, I watched the fireworks on youtube. It's a bit sad maybe, but I
saw that others from around the US were doing it, too. An added bonus was that
I didn't have to squeeze myself onto the train to get home aftwards.

My SO and I went to the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival in 2019, and that one
time was enough. It was a fun experience and the fireworks were great; Japan
really knows how to do it. However at the grand finale, everyone was so tightly
packed on the street that if anyone had fallen over, it would have taken us all
down like dominoes. As soon as the grand finale was done, I got us out of there
as fast as I could. I'd like to think that my meanderings around Asakusa up
until then had helped me when it came time to navigate the side streets. We got
onto the subway way before the crowds came.

With this new heat and humidity, I can't begin to imagine what it would be like
walking around Asakusa packed in with thousands of people. It's bad enough just
walking down the street.

BBQ-ing yesterday would have been great, but the weather was unpredictable.
Expect rain at 16:00 I read. It then sprinkled a bit at 13:00, but soon the sun
came out again. Eventually we were heavily rained on at 19:30. Such fun, but I
think they're going to announce the end of the Rainy Season (such as it was)
soon. Then the REAL heat begins.