I went to Kikugawa's fireworks festival this weekend with a few friends (pictured below: Ami, Mika, and Sarah).  We wore yukata (a summer kimono made from cotton instead of silk), ate chicken on a stick, drank fizzy soda, got gawked at a lot, got accosted by random people wanting to speak English (twice), ate snow cones, watched fireworks, and-- oh yeah, I almost forgot-- MET FORMER PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE. I spotted him first, mostly because of the swarm of bodyguards wearing earpieces and black suits. He walked right over to us (probably because of the good photo op with foreigners), said hello, where are you from, etc. (he speaks good English, by the way. duh. world leader), we got our picture taken with him (yes, I have photographic evidence. And I am smiling like a total cheeseball), met his wife (who was quite lovely, and also spoke English), and then he left. Apparently he lived in Kikugawa most of his life and came back for the famous festival. Shortly after that we drove home, laughing and talking about the experience the whole way, stopping at a 7/11 for Mika to make prints of the pictures for us.
Highlight of my ENTIRE LIFE (ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But it's way up there). I could not sleep that night I was so excited. I have told everyone I know about it. I told my mom I met Shinzo Abe, and her first reaction was "Who is that?" To be fair to her, that would be most Americans' reaction. Since he was prime minister most of the time I've been in Japan I knew his name and his face.
One of my friends here in the city told me he went bowling with the mayor of Shimonoseki. He thought it was great news. I laughed in his face. "Oh yeah? I got one on you! Guess who I met this weekend?"Labels: Daily Photo |
Name: Ruthie
wow! that is crazy! i would be so nervous to talk to someone that famous and powerful. what an unforgettable evening- a festival and a prime minister all rolled into one!