Volume 2 Chapter 69 Shopping And Tanabata Festival With Fumi-Chan
Now, I think the shopping trip I took with the usual members to Funabashi's Lost to buy Shinonome-san's birthday present went fairly well.
After all, I feel like it would be better if a girl chooses the gift for another girl.
And on the next day, Sunday, I plan to go shopping with Fumi-chan to buy yukata and participate in the Tanabata festival on July 7th.
It goes without saying that Tanabata is a custom where colorful strips of paper with wishes written on them are hung on bamboo leaves and prayers are offered to the stars on the night of July 7th every year.
Originally, the custom of Tanabata originated in Japan from the Kikkoden (Kikou-den) event, which was a ritual to pray for improvement in weaving and needlework skills, based on the skilled weaver Orihime. It seems that originally in Japan, during this time of year, there was a custom for young women to seclude themselves in a secluded waterside hut and weave cloth as an offering to ancestral spirits.
Therefore, on this day, there are grand Tanabata festivals held in various parts of Japan, but the festival in front of the Magomezawa Station is not that big.
However, I must say that festivals with girls dressed in colorful yukatas and lined with food stalls and souvenir shops are still great.
The next morning, as usual, I woke up and sent a SNS message to Fumi-chan.
'What time should we go shopping today?'
Soon after, I received a reply from Fumi-chan.
'The Tanabata festival starts in the evening, so how about going shopping after having lunch around 1 o'clock?'
'Understood. Then, I'll come pick you up in front of your house at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Fumi-chan.'
Then I went downstairs and informed my mother.
"Mom, we'll be going out after having lunch today."
"I understand. Here's the money for today's shopping."
My mother handed me 50,000 yen.
Although 50,000 yen may not seem like a small amount, it's not considered high as a token of appreciation for the private tutor who taught me and helped me achieve perfect scores in all subjects on the midterm test.
The average fee for a high school student's private tutor is around 3,100 yen per hour, so it's 62,000 yen for 20 hours... If you add up the midterms and finals, I think I'm getting taught for more than that, so it might actually be not enough.
Well, Fumi-chan probably doesn't care that much about it.
After having lunch, I change into clothes for going out and leave the house.
"I'm off!"
"Okay, be careful."
So after having lunch, I go to pick up Fumi-chan at her house, and we take the train to Funabashi Station and head to a kimono store located at the south exit of Funabashi station together.
Funabashi didn't experience any bombings during the Pacific War, so there are many old buildings, and there are several long-established kimono stores at the south exit of Funabashi station.
Now, after exit from the south exit from the ticket gate at Funabashi Station, we walk straight south, and enter the kimono shop along the main street.
On the first floor, there are accessories, machine-washable polyester kimono that can be used for everyday wear, as well as Japanese-style accessories and hand towels. They also sell yukata and jinbei, which are perfect for the current season.
Moreover, there are quite affordable options available, which is helpful for those who don't usually wear kimono and only need it for festivals or similar events.
Well, there aren't many patterns or designs for men's yukata, but there is a wide variety for women's yukata.
The yukata available on the first floor range from 980 yen to around 4800 yen, so they are quite inexpensive.
However, that doesn't mean the fabric is thin or cheap-looking.
On the second floor, there are high-quality kimono made of cotton or silk, so they are relatively expensive. However, you can still buy a yukata, obi, and geta for around 20,000 yen.
It seems that this store doesn't hold costly events like exhibitions, but instead offers low prices by directly sourcing from producers, manufacturers, and wholesalers using cash.
In that kind of atmosphere, various colors and patterns of yukatas are hanging or folded, which makes it hard to decide.
"There are so many, I can't decide which one is good."
Fumi-chan says with a smile, but she seems to be serious about it.
"There really are a lot. Well, we still have time, so I think we should take our time to choose."
However, even just the combination of colors and patterns of yukatas is already a considerable number, so it's natural for clothes with different designs to become a huge number.
Fast fashion stores shouldn't have clothes with such a difference in design, though.
"Hey, Atchan. Which color do you think is better?"
Fumi-chan points to a yukata with a purple base and cherry blossom pattern, and another one with a light green base and grass pattern.
"Hmm, it's hard to decide, but personally, I prefer the light green one."
When I say that, Fumi-chan smiles and says,
"Hehe. Yeah, I thought Atchan would say that. Well then, let's go this way."
So, in addition to the 20,000 yen yukata, obi, and geta three-piece set, she bought about 30,000 yen worth of items to wear inside, such as juban, tabi, and a crepe drawstring bag, and her bunsho shopping was finished.
"By the way, Fumi-chan, what do you use juban for?"
"Oh, well, yukata is a summer kimono, so the material is thin, and if you don't wear special underwear, there is a possibility that your shorts or bra might show through. That's why we wear a skin juban so that it doesn't happen. Also, not only yukata but also kimono has a front opening shape and the chest area is easy to open, so to prevent the skin from being greatly exposed when moving, we wear a juban under the yukata. It also has the role of absorbing sweat, preventing the yukata from getting dirty, and not sticking to the skin."
"I see, so it's like wearing a camisole under a sweater, right?"
"Yes, when wearing a yukata, girls often choose non-wire bras to avoid showing the bra shape, you know?"
"Girls have it tough, huh?"
"Yeah, for us girls it's hard just to wear a yukata."
This store also has a decent variety of men's yukata, obi, and accessories. So, Fumi-chan ended up buying some for me with the remaining money, about 10,000 yen.
The colors and patterns are quite similar to Fumi-chan's yukata, huh?
"It's not exactly matching, but it looks kind of like a pair, right?"
Well, Fumi-chan seemed happy as she said that, so I nodded.
"It does look like a pair, indeed.
And the remaining money seems to be kept for the festival stalls.
Well, at the stalls, even though the amounts aren't that much, they often charge 500 yen, so having around 10,000 yen together might be reassuring for both of us.
After that, we went back home once and changed into yukatas. Of course, I had my mom help me with putting it on, and I think Fumi-chan had auntie help her in the same way.
Then Fumi-chan came out, with her hair tied up and a fan pointed towards the back of her obi.
"Fumi-chan, you look quite different from usual, but yukata really suits you."
"Hehe, thank you."
And we made our way to the Tenmangu Shrine in front of the station, with our geta sandals clacking.
Among the people passing by on our way to the shrine, there were girls in yukata, carrying bags with goldfish or cotton candy. It seems like they're on their way back from the Tanabata festival, but they still look so happy.
"These geta sandals make it a bit difficult to walk, and it feels a little far, but we'll be there soon, right?"
I nodded in agreement with Fumi-chan.
"Yeah, I think we'll arrive soon."
Finally, we arrived.
The precincts of the Tenmangu Shrine also serve as a park, and there are stalls there, but there are also stalls along the Kinoshita Street under the stairs.
And when it comes to Tanabata, it means writing wishes on strips of paper and tying them to bamboo branches, but there were already several bamboo branches decorated with many strips of paper.
"Did kindergarten children write these?"
Fumi-chan said that, and I nodded.
"Probably I think so. We did it too in the past."
"Yeah, that's right."
And then Fumi-chan pointed to the goldfish scooping stall.
"Hey, Atchan, shall we try goldfish scooping?"
"Hmm, if we are going to do goldfish scooping, it's better to do it last. If we catch the goldfish and put them in small bags and then go around the stalls, the goldfish will weaken just from that, and besides, we haven't bought any fish now, so we have to prepare a tank and dechlorinator and all."
"I see, that's true."
"Well, it's also just that I'm not good at catching goldfish."
When I said that, Fumi-chan laughed.
"By the way, when we were in kindergarten, you used to say, 'Let's catch lots of goldfish!' and started doing it, but you couldn't catch any at all and ended up crying."
"Well, I wouldn't cry now just because I can't catch goldfish, of course."
When I said that, Fumi-chan laughed again.
"Besides, I can eat normal spicy curry now, too."
"Well, I suppose even you can eat curry, huh..."
Then Fumi-chan pointed to a stall selling apricot candies.
"Hey, Atchan, don't you want to eat that?"
"Hmm, I was thinking I wanted to eat something, so it's perfect. Yeah, let's buy it."
So, we lined up at the stall selling apricot candies, paid 500 yen, and Fumi-chan bought apricot candy while I bought mandarin candy and ate them.
"Uncle, please give me apricot candy."
"I'll have mandarin candy."
"Here you go."
We received a combination of fruit and apricot syrup on disposable chopsticks, placed on the skin of the sweet dumpling.
"Hmm, this sweetness. I guess mandarin candy is really good, right?"
"I guess Atchan still likes sweet things as usual. A little sour apricots, well, actually it's umeboshi, mixed with mizuame, so I think it's delicious."
"Well, umeboshi and daikon pickles are also delicious, but I prefer fruits like mikan and grapes from these stalls."
When I said that, Fumi-chan laughed and said,
"You really like sweet fruits, don't you?"
"Well, our taste preferences aren't that different."
After that, we decided to try shaved ice, cotton candy, and chocolate bananas, and then challenge the classic yo-yo fishing and super ball scooping at the stalls.
"Having goldfish can be difficult, but it should be fine with super balls or water yo-yos, right? Which one should we choose?"
"Okay, let's try yo-yo fishing then."
So, I decided to try water yo-yo fishing.
It's a technique where you hang a baited hook on a rubber band loop of a water yo-yo and then reel it in.
First, I twisted the bait I received to make it tighter and stronger.
Unlike goldfish scooping or superball scooping, you can make some adjustments in water yo-yo fishing.
Then, I held the bait shorter to make it easier to control the hook.
The rubber band is completely submerged, making it difficult to catch fish, but that's normal as it is in the water.
However, there are cases where the connection between the water balloon and the rubber band is above the water.
If the connection between the water balloon and the rubber band is above the water, hook the needle onto the rubber band at the connection point, and when it reaches the knot of the loop, the needle stops, so just pull it up.
With this method, you can make any yo-yo easier to catch.
But I'm not sure I'll be able to catch a fish after all that.
"Oh! I got one!"
However, I managed to catch one somehow.
"Wow, even Atchan managed to catch properly."
"I think that way of speaking is harsh, you know?"
"No, Atchan is definitely growing, huh?"
I handed the water yo-yo I caught to Fumi-chan and said.
"Here, I'll give it to Fumi-chan first."
"Huh, me?"
"Maybe when we were in kindergarten, I wanted to show Fumi-chan that I could catch goldfish well, but it didn't go well."
When I said that, Fumi-chan laughed.
"Hehe, I see. Thank you."
"Well, since it went well this time, let's say it's all good."
I managed to catch one more, but the third one was impossible, as expected.
"Well, it's fine since we each caught one more."
I said that, and Fumi-chan laughed.
"Well done, well done."
Anyway, the Tanabata festival was really fun.
...
...
Clear.
- Going shopping with Fumi-chan
- Fumi-chan's school festival
- Date with Fumi-chan at the rose garden.
- Going shopping with Gouriki-kun
- Hirose-kun's birthday
- Shopping with Saikachi-san
- Learning sewing from Auntie Satsuki and Yayoi-chan
- Go to buy Shinonome-san's birthday present with the usual members.
- Go shopping for yukatas with Fumi-chan and attend the Tanabata festival
Schedule.
- July 10: Shinonome-san's birthday
- July 21: Participating in a small doujin event with Shibata-san
- July 29: Going firefly watching with Saikachi-san
- August 1-3: Going to the beach with Fumi-chan
- August 5-8: Camping in the mountains with Kokonoe-san
- August 10: Fumi-chan's birthday
- Obon in August: Participating in Comiket Day 1 and Day 2 with Kashiyama-san
- August 20: Going on a pool date with Nakagaito
- August 23: Going on an aquarium date with Namiki-san
- August 26-27: Going to TDR with Yayoi-chan
- End of July and end of August: Making plans to do homework with Shinonome-san
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