First fireworks of the year - Bentenjima hanabi

It's July, and that means that it's fireworks season. Fourteen of us went down to watch the fireworks (along with hundreds of other Japanese) on Saturday. We got there about 5 o'clock to get a good seat, even though the fireworks didn't start till 7:30. So before the fireworks started, we could go and buy some food from the many food vendors there. Here's Sam trying his first ever choco-banana:
Many people dress up in yukatas for the fireworks (as you can see in previous years' posts). So we also took pictures posing in our yukatas in front of the large red gate in the water (a torii):




We tried some trick-photography as well:

And finally the fireworks started. Here was my fine view behind Sam and Christine:
Don't worry, I got some shots without their heads as well. Can you see the cat (or Doraemon) in this next one?





Overall, a good show as usual, although not quite as good as last year since there was no breeze and thus the smoke from the fireworks lingered and blocked some of the view of the following fireworks...oh well.