Thursday, August 11, 2011

Kobe Fireworks via Sailboat







Having never experienced the Kobe fireworks extravaganza (it always falls on the same day as the Yodogawa fireworks display in Osaka every year), I thought what not a better way than to see the fireworks up close not from land but rather from sea on Saturday, August 6.  Realizing that one of my friends was planning an evening out on the open waters to enjoy the fireworks in Kobe, I jumped at the opportunity to join in on the fun on his sailboat.

Starting from Osaka Hokko Yacht Harbor (see picture 1) a little before 4:00 p.m., we departed for Kobe enjoy the cruise along the way.  After two hours of cruising, we entered into Kobe territory (see picture 2) where we enjoyed a great BBQ on my friend's sailboat as part of the pre-fireworks festivities before the main event took place from 7:30 p.m.

At the conclusion of the one hour fireworks show, one of the most interesting scenes of the night was seeing all the motor boats and sailboats that had come to enjoy the festivities just like us leave in droves at the same instant.  It was just like out of a Hollywood movie as all the boats got "out of dodge" in a matter of a few minutes.  Very entertaining to say the least.

The two hour return trip back to Osaka was quite uneventful as most of the boats that came to see the fireworks returned to other areas like Suma and Awaji Island.

Having never seen the fireworks so close before, it was a very worthwhile experience.  With some much more left to explore and land and sea, I am eager for the next opportunity.  As always, I'll keep you posted!

3 comments:

  1. Hi! Thanks for your tip about the fake food website -- and how cool that you live in Japan, you lucky guy!

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  2. Hey Justin -- that's YOU in the videos, isn't it! Great site.

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  3. That's right! You caught me red-handed... :P

    Thanks for your wonderful comment about the site.

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