Participating in a Music Festival

The festival held at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi,
the festival
Sweet Love Shower,
or 'Love Sha' as it's called,
was the third trip
with the friend who invited me,
following our trips to Nikko and Fukuoka.

When she asked me,
'I got tickets, do you want to go, Ayumi?'
I answered instantly,
'I'm going!'

I wrote it in big letters
in my phone's memo
so I wouldn't forget to take time off work,
and I prayed that my daughter's school orientation

wouldn't fall on that day!
I had been looking forward to it so much
that you could say my summer was centered around that date.

My travel companion, my car,
a light car I'd driven for 10 years,
finally had its air conditioner
start acting up,
and the mileage
had reached 140,000 km.

I had been trying to replace the car
by this date,
but in the end,
it seemed it would take nearly two months for delivery,
so I picked up a rental car.

Finally,
the morning of Love Sha.

My friend
took the direct bus to the festival venue,
and I drove my car,
each of us heading to Yamanashi.

I arrived a little early
at the parking lot I had reserved,
and waited for my friend at the venue.

That such a day would come
now that I'm an adult,
I couldn't have imagined
a few years ago.

Sitting on a chair in the shade of a tree at the entrance,
I savored the moment.

After meeting up with my friend,
we decided to get some food!
and ate some festival food.
Saying that the beginning is crucial,

my friend
taught me a lot about
how to enjoy the live performances.
We moved forward,

weaving through the crowd.

She moved smoothly through places
where I thought, 'There's no way I can get through there.'

To a spot where we could clearly see the artists
with our own eyes!

At 'Yabai T-Shirts Yasan',
during the performance,
a mosh pit
started,
and I thought I might fall
if I got caught up in it,
but because we were in a position
where we could experience the circle perfectly,
it was so much fun! 💛
We looked at each other
and laughed.

My friend said,

'If you're just swaying in the back,
you'll go home without knowing the fun of being in the front.'
'I want you to go home thinking the festival was fun!'
Those pure words
made me want to enjoy it 100% too. 🙌
If I had just chilled in the back,
it would have been a world I never knew.

By going inside,
feeling the heat,
I realized that
there was heat within me too.

I became a fan of artists I didn't know,
and for the artists I did know,
there was the joy of being able to sing along.

Among them,
Lucky Kilimanjaro was an artist
my son
had been listening to since middle school,
saying 'Lucky Kilimanjaro is amazing.'
During his three years of middle school,

my son played soccer for a club team,
taking the train there
and I would pick him up by car on the way back.
Up to five times a week,
nearly an hour each way.

This was the most physically
demanding time in my parenting,
(he was also working very hard)

Thanks to that, the one-hour drive
felt like about 15 minutes, haha.

I lost my fear of driving on the national highway.

Lucky Kilimanjaro was among the many songs
we listened to together while driving.
The moment their stage started

at the festival,
without any embarrassment,
I danced with my whole body.
To my own rhythm.
The young people at the venue

were close in age to my son,

but seeing everyone swaying freely
regardless of generation
was incredibly happy.

The young person in front of me
was moving to the rhythm
in a way that resembled my son
listening to them at home.

I felt truly happy,
thinking that my son
will probably go on to enjoy life like this too.

While respecting the other person
to the fullest,
I have also chosen to remain myself.
By the third time,

I think that
naturally harmonized
in this trip.
Perhaps because we are both water signs,

in the great outdoors,
we both feel comfortable
savoring the time
with our whole bodies.

Our sun signs are both mutable, so
we were able to adapt to changing situations,
and the pace was fun.

Every place you chose when you asked,
"Shall we try going here?"
was amazing,
and getting to our destination
felt like it only took 15 minutes.

Thank you so much!