On Saturday afternoon, we drove down to go to the Mountain View Obon Festival. We’d always heard about it and had wanted to check it out, but it’s about an hour drive away for us so we hadn’t gone until this year. We originally wanted to attend on Sunday because that’s the day they have the bon-odori, but Dan had an obligation that day, so Saturday was the only time we could go together. We had a wonderful time experiencing Obon together as a family!

Checking out the food offerings
Arriving at Mountain View Obon

 

Dan enjoying a beer
Dan enjoying a beer

 

Mio in her stroller
Mio was dressed up in her matsuri attire – thank you Yuko & family for the jinbei!

 

Dressed in yukata for the festival.
I dressed in yukata for the festival. It’s been a while since I wore one!

 

Our first time here!
It was really hot down in Mountain View… especially in the yukata!

 

People in line for food
There were various food stands serving shaved ice, sushi, manju, ohagi, chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, corn, corn dogs, french fries, spam musubi, beer, sake, and other refreshments.

 

kingyo-sukui
Kingyo-sukui (Goldfish Scooping Game) – an Obon classic!

 

Love all the colors!
Love all the colors!

 

Mio and I watching
Mio and I watching the Goldfish Game

 

Mio walking around
Mio loved walking around and taking in everything.

 

Holding onto my hand
Thankfully, she’s been getting better about holding my hand while navigating crowds.

 

Mio and I sitting on the bench.
Taking a break to eat some ohagi and sip on Italian soda.

 

Mio has been doing this funny thing where she pretends to sip water, and then afterwards lets out a big burst of breath, like it was really refreshing. I’m not sure where she learned it from… I have a feeling it’s from this beer commercial, which comes on a lot when I’m watching Japanese TV shows. Here it is on video.


 

She's so silly!
Silly girl.

 

Love her!
Love her!

 

Welcome back from DC!
We ran into our friends Ali and Tim, who recently just moved back to the area after living in DC for a couple years.

 

Mio wants Ali's glasses
Mio loved them!

 

Family picture (taken by Ali)
A family picture (courtesy of Ali)

 

Trying to get Mio to smile.
Our first time at Mountain View Obon!

 

Around 6pm, we headed over to the stage area where Jun Daiko was going to have a taiko performance.

He wanted to drum, too!
This adorable little boy was walking around the taiko set.

 

Mio's very unladylike pose.
Meanwhile, Mio was getting restless and flashing people with very unladylike poses. Please don’t do this when you are 16…

 

...so we moved her to Dan's lap.
…so we moved her to Dan’s lap.

 

I love watching taiko.
Jun Daiko performing – they were great! I love watching taiko.

 

Mio's first time seeing taiko.
Mio’s first time seeing taiko – she was fascinated, too.

 

Feeding the lion.
A lion came out during the performance.

 

She was transfixed.
Mio was transfixed on the lion.

 

She was a little intimidated.
The lion went around to different members of the audience, and he eventually made his way over to Mio. She was definitely a bit intimidated and shrank bank a little, but she didn’t turn away. Even after it left, she kept her eyes on him and pointed in his direction.

 

Here’s the last half of Jun Daiko’s finale performance of “Inazuma.”


 

"Inazuma" performance
“Inazuma” performance by Jun Daiko

 

Mio yelling
Towards the end, Mio was yelling along with the taiko performers… lol.

 

Afterwards, we headed over to downtown Mountain View for a ramen dinner and frozen yogurt for dessert!

messy ramen eater
Our messy ramen eater

 

A froyo lover, just like Daddy!
A froyo lover, just like Daddy!

 

I’m really glad that we made the drive down to go to the festival this year! It was memorable, and I think it’s great to give Mio exposure to Japanese culture and traditions so that she can develop an appreciation for her ethnic heritage.