Obon 2010

The weekend of July 17th and 18th, 2010, the Mountain View Buddhist Temple held their annual Obon Festival. There were food booths, games, shaved ice, and bingo. On Sunday evening the Bon Odori was held in the side parking lot. Jordyn and I practiced every Tuesday and Thursday evening for weeks so we would know some of the steps. In the end, we performed quite well I think.

Obon 2011

Another summer, another Obon. As in past years, we went to Obon at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple. I always have a great time. I got to play bingo, shoot darts at the shooting gallery, eat shave ice, and dance.

Obon 2012

On July 21st and 22nd my family and I went to the Mountain View Buddhist Temple Obon Festival. We go every year and always have the best time. This year was no different as we got to see friends, eat, and play games. I also helped distribute prizes at the Duck Pond. At the end of Sunday I, along with Jordyn and Connor, participated in Odori. Every year I get better and better. It won't be long before all the dance steps are second nature!

Obon 2013

Obon, this year, kind of snuck up on us. When I tried on my Hapi Coat, it was way too small. In the end, I borrowed an old one from a family friend for Odori. Otherwise, it was like any other year. I helped out at the Duck Pond game booth, Goldfish booth, played a little bingo, and then I ate!

Obon 2014

This Obon I got to wear my brand new Happi Coat that Grandma Higa got for me. My old one now belongs to Connor. This year I helped out at the Duck Pond and Goldfish booth. I really had a lot of fun playing games this year. I went to the shooting gallery a bunch of times and hit the bullseye multiple times! I ate a ton of food too, plus I danced at Odori!

Obon 2015

Obon is something we work at and play at every summer. This year, I helped at the shooting gallery and goldfish booth. The games I played were shooting gallery, add 'em up, and bingo. Oh, and the food was so good (as always). I had french fries, hot dogs, and udon (my favorite)! Lastly, on Sunday we did odori with what might have been the largest crowd ever!

Obon 2016

Another summer, another Obon! Tyler worked the Shooting Gallery again. This time he was able to do it with his good friend Evan. Afterward, the two of them played games and ate. Some of the great food included shave ice and spam musubi. On Sunday they got together (with Connor) and did odori (dance)!

Obon 2017

Obon was busier than ever this year! Mom and Dad found themselves working all over the place. Mom was toiling away in the YBA Hall all weekend coordinating the spam musubi making. Dad first helped with setting up the Bingo Booth and then the Shooting Gallery. Later, he helped cook rice for spam musubi. Connor and I were able to eat french fries and corn dogs. We also found our way over to the spam musubi booth and beef teriyaki. It wouldn't be Obon if we didn't hit up the games. Of course, we played at the Shooting Gallery, and Connor even did the Grab Bag. And then on Sunday it was all about Odori. We did our best to do the dances, but in the end it was all about spending time with family and friends.

Obon 2018

This year's Obon was the busiest we've ever been. Dad was the Obon Co-Chair this year. They had all kinds of problems because the city found all these code violations last year. He and Uncle Craig worked for almost an entire year trying to figure things out. In the end, with the help of many others, they found a way to get it done. While he was busy constantly checking if things were OK, Mom was super busy with the YBA Hot Dog Booth. In the past, the YBA would make spam musubi. Unfortunately, one of the code violations last year was cooking rice with unventilated gas rice cookers. Since we could no longer make rice, the YBA opted to make hot dogs with a Japanese twist. Connor and I found ourselves with plenty of time for ourselves playing games and eating food. It might have been a little different this year, but we still had plenty of fun!

Obon 2019

Usually, every year we pretty much stick to just the MVBT Obon. This year, however, we decided to attend some other local Obons to visit and support friends. It all started with the San Jose Obon when Touzan Taiko of Cal Poly Pomona came up to perform. We all wanted to see Jordyn's good friend Serena play. The following week we worked our tails off at the MVBT Obon. Mom and friends organized and ran the YBA Hot Dog Booth. Tyler worked several shifts and was energized when the booth was busy. Connor worked the Shooting Gallery Booth along with Dad. Dad also helped out at the Bingo Booth and Color Spot Game Booth. The following Sunday Dad, Connor, and Tyler attended the Salinas Obon. Tyler has some good friends who belong to the YBA in Salinas and he wanted to show his support by attending their biggest fundraiser. It ended up being like a Coast District Conference with many friends from MVBT, San Jose, and Salinas all in attendance.

Palo Alto
Obon
8/3/19

Probably the last Obon we will attend this year is at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple. Our former reverend, Koyama Sensei, is the resident minister here. Palo Alto is always a great Obon to attend because it follows our Obon, so we can simply relax and enjoy the event. Tyler always seems to find other YBA members in attendance so he's always hanging out with them.

Obon 2024

Tyler's Obon this year was a little special. You see, he turned 21 back in June so this was the first time he could have a beer. He still helped out whenever he could. On Sunday, he and old buddy Evan Itow could be found working in the Dining Hall handing out chili over rice. Of course, at the end of the day he was dancing around the yagura during Odori.

Palo Alto
Obon
8/3/24

Tyler also attended the Palo Alto Obon with family, but basically hung out with friends the entire time. There was one opportunity though when Dad was able to grab both Jordyn and Tyler so he could buy them a beer.