Festival Fever
Ren English Readers · Level A2
Hana and Momo stood in front of a flyer. It showed a picture of a festival with fireworks. Several people were dressed in short blue robes, dancing.
"We should go there. I love festivals. The food is delicious," said Momo. "Even the air smells like yakisoba."
"I like the games. My favourite is catching the goldfish. We should go there with Ren and Sora," said Hana. She leaned closer and read the poster.
"Go where?" asked Ren. He was carrying a soccer ball. He was walking with Sora.
"To the street festival tonight," said Momo. "Summer is the best time for them. They'll have lots of fun games and good food."
"What kind of games and food?" asked Ren.
"There's takoyaki, kakigori, yakisoba," said Momo. She licked her lips.
"I know yakisoba. That's fried noodles with cabbage. But what are the other two?" asked Ren.
"Takoyaki are fried octopus dumplings, and kakigori is shaved ice covered in a sweet syrup," said Momo.
"Just like a slushie back home," said Ren.
"The biggest games are the ring toss and the goldfish scooping," said Sora. "The prizes are cool. They have video games."
"That sounds like fun," said Ren. "What time does it start?"
"At six o'clock. We can meet in front of the train station," said Hana.
"I don't know. There are usually many people there," said Sora. He bit his nails. "I might get lost."
Momo hugged him. "Don't worry. I'll be there. You can hold my hand, Sora."
"I guess so. The shooting games are fun," said Sora.
"Sounds good. Do we have to wear anything?" asked Ren.
"I'm going to wear a yukata," said Momo.
"What's that?" asked Ren.
"It's a light summer kimono. I have a cute pink one at home," said Momo.
"I have a light green one," said Hana. "My mom got it for me last year."
"I don't have one," said Ren. "Can I still go?"
Sora smiled. "No problem. I don't have one either. We can go in our regular clothes."
"That's great," said Ren. "What time is it now?"
Hana checked her watch. "It's two o'clock. Let's meet at the station at five fifty."
"Sounds good. See you tonight," said Ren. He and Sora waved goodbye and went to the park.
Four hours later
Ren and Sora waited at the front entrance to the train station. It was very hot. Ren had a water bottle. Sora wiped his forehead. Many people were laughing and wearing yukatas.
"Can you carry my water bottle, Sora? I forgot to bring a backpack," said Ren.
"Sure, no problem," said Sora. He put Ren's bottle in his bag and zipped it up. "Many people are going to the festival. I don't want to get lost."
"Don't worry. It'll be fun. I'll stay with you," said Ren.
"Thank you. Where are the girls?" asked Sora.
"They are late. It's almost six," said Ren. He pointed to the street. "Look! There they are. Wow! The yukatas look like dresses."
Hana and Momo wore a long yukata and carried paper fans. Momo had a red ribbon in her black hair. Hana had a long blue ribbon in hers.
"Sorry, we're late," said Hana.
"It's no problem. You look beautiful," said Ren.
"Yes, you do," said Sora.
"Thank you," Hana and Momo said together. They giggled.
"Let's go," said Ren. "I can hear the music."
"And I can smell the food," said Momo.
"Don't run away this time, Momo. You don't want to get lost. There are too many people," said Sora.
Momo stuck out her tongue at Sora. "Don't worry. If I get lost, I'll wait at the big lantern in the center of the festival."
"Okay," said Sora.
"Come on, let's go," said Ren.
"Slow down," said Sora.
"Don't worry. I won't get lost." Ren stopped at the entrance to the festival. There were a few stalls selling food. Many people were lined up. He pointed to the wooden arch.
"What are those lanterns hanging there? Why are they red and white?"
"Those are called chochin. They are paper lanterns and glow bright at night. They make the festival fun," said Hana.
"I can smell Takoyaki," said Momo. "Let's try some."
"Are they delicious?" asked Ren.
"Yes, they are," said Momo. She went to the stall and bought a paper boat with eight dumplings in it. There was a white and green sauce on top. She gave everybody a toothpick. "We can each have two."
Hana and Sora took one dumpling and blew on it.
"Be careful. It's hot," said Hana. She ate it and took another one.
Momo handed Ren one dumpling on a toothpick. "Try it."
Ren took the toothpick and blew on the ball. He put it in his mouth and chewed. He smiled. "This is my first time eating octopus. It's very good."
Momo smiled and ate her two dumplings quickly.
They put the paper boat in the garbage. Momo went to the yakisoba stand and bought some more food. "This is the best."
"I'm not hungry. I want to try a game," said Hana.
"I'll stay with you, Momo. There are too many people over there," said Sora.
"I'll go with you," said Ren. "The games look fun."
Ren and Hana went to a big pool filled with fish.
"Wow. Look at all the fish. What's this game called?" asked Ren.
"Goldfish Scooping. You try to catch a goldfish with a small paper net," said Hana. She waved her hand at the older woman sitting behind the tubs. "Two, please."
"That'll be six hundred yen," said the old woman. She gave Hana two paper nets and two bowls.
"What do I do?" asked Ren.
"Watch me. Be careful. The net breaks quickly," said Hana. She bent down in front of the pool. The goldfish swam in circles. She took the bowl in her left hand and the paper net in her right.
"You wait until you see a goldfish you want and put the net into the water to catch it." She held the net over the water and put it in the water. She brought it out quickly, catching two goldfish in her bowl.
"Wow! Can I try?" asked Ren.
"Of course," said Hana. She put another goldfish into her bowl before the net broke. She gave it and the bowl to the old woman. She put the three goldfish in a bag with some water and handed it to Hana.
Ren knelt in front of the tub and put the paper net in the water. "Ahh! It broke."
"Was that your first time?" asked the old woman.
Ren nodded.
She smiled and gave him another net. "Here, try again."
"Wow! Thank you," Ren said.
He held the bowl in one hand and the paper net in the other. "I'll try you!" he said and put the paper net into the water. He got one fish into his bowl. His net broke again.
"I did it!" Ren said.
"Good work," said the old woman.
"You did it, Ren!" Hana said.
"That was fun." He held the bowl up to his face and looked at his goldfish. "What do you do with this?"
"You can take it home and put it in a fish tank," said Hana. "I have five goldfish at home. I'm going to add three more."
"That's okay. I can't have pets in my apartment," said Ren. He handed the bowl back to the woman. She dumped the fish back into the tub.
"Can we try a different game?" asked Ren.
Momo and Sora joined them.
"The yakisoba was great," Momo said.
"Let's go to the ring toss," said Sora. "They have video games."
"Where's that?" asked Ren.
"Over here," said Sora. "Be careful. There are more people here now."
They pushed their way through many people.
"Where are you, Ren?" asked Sora. "I can't see you."
"Here I am," Ren said. "Sorry. Somebody pushed me."
They made it to the front of the ring toss game.
"What do you do?" asked Ren.
"You get three rings. You take the rings and toss them onto the bottles," said Hana. "The ones in front have small candy prizes. The second row has bigger prizes, but they are harder to get."
"What about the ones in the back?" asked Ren.
"They have video games. But they are the hardest to get," said Hana.
"I want to go first. Watch me," said Sora.
"Here you go," said the man behind the counter. He handed Sora three rings.
Sora stood behind the line and aimed the first ring at a bottle in the back. He tossed it and missed. He tried with his second ring and missed. He tried with his third ring and missed.
"I wanted the video game," said Sora sadly.
Momo hugged him. "Next time. Let's get some kakigori."
They moved out of the way.
Ren stood behind the line like Sora and tossed his first ring at the video game bottle. It was very far away. He missed.
"Try a different one," said Hana.
"Okay," said Ren. He tried a bottle at the front and tossed the ring. It hit the edge and bounced off.
"You can do it," said Hana.
Ren tossed the third ring, and it caught the bottle, sliding down.
"I did it!" Ren said.
"Congratulations," said the man. He handed Ren a small box of candy. Ren turned and stopped. Hana was gone. A stranger was standing beside him.
"Hana, where are you?" asked Ren. He pushed through the people and stepped away from the games. He held his box of candy in one hand. "Sora! Hana! Momo! Where are you?" He looked for Hana's green yukata and Momo's pink yukata, but he couldn't find them.
He looked left and right. There were too many people. "Where is everybody?"
Away from the games, it was dark. There weren't any chochin here.
"I'm lost," Ren said. He squeezed the box of candy. "What should I do?"
"Momo said she would go to the large lantern in the center," said Ren. "I'll wait for them there."
He looked left and right, but couldn't see the lantern. Two people passed by him. They were laughing.
"Which way do I go?" He scratched his head. He walked forward and stopped. The street was dark, and there were no chochin lanterns. He bit his lip. Japan was safe, but getting lost wasn't fun.
Ren went back to the festival street. "Excuse me. Where is the big lantern?" he asked a man at a balloon stand.
"Go straight down this street. You'll see it soon," the man said.
"Thank you," said Ren.
"No problem."
Ren walked past a stall selling masks and another game stall where people were fishing for prizes. He shook his head. "There are lots of cool games here, but I want to try them with my friends."
The crowd got bigger. It was hard to push through them. Many people were wearing yukatas and walking. Some were eating shaved ice.
"There's the lantern," Ren said. He stopped in front of a large red-and-white chochin. It was in the middle of a large field. "Hana will find me here." Many people were sitting next to the lantern. Three were eating chocolate bananas.
"Momo loves chocolate," said Ren. "I'm hot. I want to try the kakigori."
Some people in blue uniforms stepped into the circle. He heard drum music start. The people in blue started to dance.
"Wow! That's cool. Hana would like that," said Ren. "Where is everybody?"
The dancing continued. Ren squeezed his candy box. "What if I can't find them?"
He watched the dancers.
"Ren! There you are," said a voice.
Ren turned around. "Sora! Momo! Hana! Where did you three go?"
"I was pushed away from the ring toss and went to find Momo," said Hana. "When I came back, you were gone."
"That's what I was afraid of. It's very easy to get lost here," said Sora. "Good thing you waited at the lantern."
"I remembered what Momo said if she got lost," said Ren.
Momo smiled. "Do you want to try some kakigori? I got you some strawberry flavour. It's too hot, so it melted." She gave Ren a small cup with a plastic spoon. There was some ice left inside, and a lot of pink water.
"Thank you. I'm very hot," said Ren. He took the cup and drank the water.
"How was it?" asked Hana.
"Delicious. I needed that," said Ren. He used the spoon to eat the ice.
The drum started slowly. Then it got louder, and the dancers in blue started moving faster. Ren heard clapping all around him. Many people joined the dancers. Everyone moved together: older people, younger people, children, and the circle got bigger. "What are they doing?" asked Ren.
"It's called an Obon dance," said Hana. "Everybody moves in a circle."
"Come on, Sora. I want to try," said Momo. She grabbed Sora's hand and pulled him into the dance circle.
"Can I join?" asked Ren.
Hana took his hand. "Sure. Just follow what everyone is doing."
Ren and Hana got behind Momo and started dancing. They moved in a circle. Ren followed the other dancers. The chochin lanterns glowed above the dancers, and shadows moved across the field.
"This is fun," he said. He raised his arms in the air. He stepped left, then right. It was not difficult.
"It's easy, too," said Sora.
Ren forgot about being lost. He was happy again. He looked at his friends and smiled.
They danced around the field two more times before the music stopped. Everyone clapped and laughed.
"I liked that, but I'm tired," said Ren. He was breathing heavily.
"I have your water bottle," said Sora. He opened his backpack and took out Ren's bottle.
"Thank you, Sora," said Ren.
"No problem. My Mom made me some tea and gave me some cups. Do you want some Momo?" asked Sora.
"Yes, please," said Momo. Sora gave her a cup of tea.
"That's delicious," said Momo.
"How about you, Hana?" Sora asked.
"I'm okay. I have my own bottle." Hana took a small water bottle from a pocket in her yukata.
"Where did you have that?" asked Ren.
"I have secret pockets. My fish are in another one," Hana said. She took her fan from her sleeve and started fanning herself. She looked at her watch.
"What time is it?" asked Ren.
"It's almost eight o'clock. The fireworks are going to start," said Hana.
A small pop burst in the sky, and a flash of sparks filled the darkness. Two more small pops followed.
The four children stared at the sky. There were many flashes of colour. Ren watched the sparks in the sky. Hana took his hand.
"They are beautiful," he said.
"I love the fireworks," said Hana.
Momo hugged Sora.
A lot of pops burst in the sky, and many fireworks filled the air. The sky was quiet afterwards.
"Wow," said Momo.
"I think so, too," said Sora.
People started leaving the field. "Is it over?" asked Ren.
"Yes. The games will continue for a bit, but most people are going home," said Hana.
"Do you want to try another game?" asked Sora. "We'll stay together."
Ren shook his head. "No. It was fun to play them with you and Hana, but when I was by myself, they didn't seem as much fun. I wasn't happy alone."
"Games are always better with friends. So is food," said Momo. She had a chocolate banana.
"How much food did you eat tonight, Momo?" asked Sora.
"I can't remember. Festival food is the best." She broke her banana in half and gave it to Sora. "Do you want some?"
"Thank you, Momo." Sora took the banana and ate it.
"I had lots of fun tonight. Let's come again next year," said Ren.
"Summer festivals are the best. Maybe tomorrow we can go to a haunted house," said Hana.
"Why?" asked Ren.
"They are the second-best thing to do in summer," said Hana.
"No way!" said Sora. He had chocolate around his mouth. "There were too many people here, but no ghosts. I hate ghosts."
"Don't worry. I'll protect you," said Ren. He touched Sora's shoulder. "If we are together, it'll be fun."
"Maybe," said Sora.
"Let's go home," said Hana.