It's a wild celebration, and if you're not paying attention, you could be a part of it real quick; as Ken found out the hard way! One float was passing us by with a large group of Haneto dancers behind. One person grabbed me, and another grabbed Ken, I managed to escape, but Ken was not as quick. I could see him caught in the middle of a group of people jumping about as they were, it was pretty funny. Earlier, one woman dressed in the typical Nebuta wear, grabbed me for a picture. To be an American at this festival can be an advantage, or not, everyone wants you to be a part of the party. To have a child with you, draws even more attention.

We went to the festival with Mark and his 4 year old son Matthew, everyone seamed to adore him! Haneto dancers gave him bells after bells. One of the traditions of the festival are the bells. People attached small bells to their costumes, so when they danced, they jingled too. During the parade, the dancers would throw the bells in to the crowd. By the end of the night, you could easily walk away with about 20 bells hanging from your shirt.

The parade is definitely best seen at night with the floats all lit up. but this year we went to the parade during the daytime. It's not as spectacular, but still worth seeing.