BBQ in Azuma

There had been talk of having a BBQ at mine for a long time, but due to busy schedules, crappy weather and the like, it never eventuated. Until the 21st of last month. N was in charge of organising it and I was to provide the venue. I was in Tokyo til late the day before, so the morning of saw me running around my house like a madman cleaning every nook and cranny, killing every insect and vacuuming every square centimetre of tatami. Despite N not being able to come in the end, about 10 people came and spent the late morning, afternoon and evening at mine. Once we got the BBQ started (why do they still use coal BBQs here?) we ate ridiculously well, thanks to the cooking expertise of M, M and Y1. And Y1 was kind enough to bring a dirty big watermelon to share. We ended up taking it down to the river where it was bathed in the cool river water before being smashed against a rock by J to "cut" it into pieces.

After a bit at the river, it was back to mine for some yakisoba and fireworks. The first few fireworks were cool - hand held ones, kind of like sparklers back home I guess. Then M lit a different type of firework and placed it on the ground. It was one of those that gushes bright lights and shoots up about 2 metres. Once we saw the sparks hitting the tree just outside my house, we realised it was probably best that we headed back down to the bridge over the river to set off the remaining fireworks.

Thanks for organising it N! Wish you could have been there. And thanks to G for the pics - look at Gunma's latest Hot Couple ;-)