Kakigori the size of my head!!

Ever since it stopped raining last week, it's been hot & humid! The lows are usually still in the 70's and during the afternoon it's close to 100' with humidity. Needing relief from sweating, last night Monica & I went to our favorite ice cream cafe for kakigori, shaved ice, served with your choice of syrup flavor, and surprises of ice cream and jellied candy hidden inside!

This is the "Blue Hawaiian" and as you can see, the mountain of ice compares to the size of my head. It costs roughly 5 bucks and definitely fills up and refreshes 2 people! When we left the cafe, back into the sticky outdoors, we happened upon this small parade of kids carrying a shrine--the beginnings of a three day festival in our town. On Sunday it will culminate at a near-by park with shrines from each neighborhood, food vendors, and fireworks. Of course I whipped out my camera when I saw the parade, and the kids were surprisingly not shy at all, but waved to us with shouts of "Harrroow!" (hello).