What did you do to celebrate Tanabata this year? I’m American, not Japanese, but since I was in the country and didn’t have another easy way to celebrate in a “Fourth of July”ish way, I went to the big Tanabata festival in Hiratsuka to eat food and enjoy the atmosphere. The American Fourth of July and the Japanese Tanabata are completely different holidays with different meanings behind them, of course, but to me the way people celebrate “feels” the same: food, friends, fireworks! For a summer celebration you can’t ask for much more.