Making lanterns and the Iwamuro Onsen Matsuri

I am going to miss the Iwamuro art club. A lot. Last week I went to the Iwamuro community center with them to make lanterns for this week's onsen matsuri (the first picture is our planning map of things that remind us of Iwamuro). A bunch of nice grandparents showed us how to make the lanterns.
Then, last night, we put on yukatas (summer kimonos) and walked in the matsuri parade, carrying our lighted lanterns. One of my student's grandmothers had offered to help me wear a yukata, so I showed up early and she helped me get dressed. After that we did a quick tea ceremony, and then it was time for the parade.
The night was humid - it had been raining most of the day, but thankfully stopped for the matsuri. The air was thick and foggy and a few boys (my students) walked at the front of the parade with sparklers, and the smoke added to the atmosphere. There were men playing wooden flutes, a taiko (drum) player, and an omikoshi (a shrine carried by a group of men).
We finished at a shrine in the center of Iwamuro, where we tied our lanterns to railings on the stairs as a gift, and then said a quick prayer.
After all that it was late, and I was hungry. My friend Maiko had come (also wearing a yukata) and we got frappe (shaved ice with flavor), frozen pineapple on a stick, and popoyaki (like a warm, chewy graham cracker). We stood with my students to watch the fireworks, which were beautiful despite the clouds.
There are a lot of things about Japan that I'm going to miss, but it's experiences like this (and the people that make them happen) that I'm going to miss most.