NEW midSUMMER BANNERsss!! ^_^V bonzai!!

[credit: some1 was/is using this for their LJ page theme, but i can't remember who. sorry. if u made this and u come here, comment below so i can give u proper credit here. this is 1 of my fav summer toma pics f/last yr. and i love the "come home to me" text added in by that fan!♥]

at last, new banners!! :D
i hope u'll like them.
it's a summer theme. (though summer is half over by now.)
i'm using a summer festival and beach pic cuz those are 2 things toma mentioned in 1 of his messages from last month, about what u should remember to do during summer...go have fun at these places. =)

i know i always say this, but this time also, it took quite a while to find the right pics! partly cuz i wanted the pics to both be taken IN JAPAN only. even if there's lots of nice beaches in and a lot of summer festivals in japan, somehow i had a hard time finding the right one...not too dark (lots of nighttime festival pics) and not too crowded or too boring (lots of empty beach pics). i think these 2 pics are pretty (love the sparkling water and silhouttes; the cute girls in yukata and boys too, at a pretty location right next to a pool of water in a crowded/fun-looking shopping area), and i like how both have groups of friends in them. cuz summer is a great time to hang out with friends, right?


i really love how japanese ppl have tons of matsuri (festivals) so often in the year!! ^_^ and they have a lot during the summer. the obon (day of the dead, AKA bon odori, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival) is the biggest summer festival, i think. and is mostly celebrated starting on august 15, so i'm a little early for it, that i'm changing banners now! the banner above, the pic is of some teenagers at a bon festival (in Setagaya (世田谷区), Tokyo's most populous city, according to the photographer). I LOVE HOW PRETTY ALL THE GIRLS LOOK IN THEIR COLORFUL YUKATA!! *__* the boys look nice cute in them too, but mostly only see girls and women wear them. i'd like to try wearing one too!! ~_~

i found lots of nice pics of japan beaches (mostly) and festivals and fireworks too.
though i couldn't use them, i thought it'd be nice to share them with you here.
take a look, kudasai!

[6 pics credit: these 6 links are somewhere below!]

matsuri or festival fireworks pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skootie/2770714375/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/japan-life/1083189678/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfiegoodrich/3735957052/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zrahen/198789514/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gethiroshima/869168301/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jetalone/2752281713/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83626281@N00/2779671543/in/set-72157606824224558/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gethiroshima/869168301/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digi_photo_frame/2725561432/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_oye/201929807/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shirotsugu/191374950/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eesti/207866851/in/set-72057594076205230/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/musicasaboroso/3800736015/in/set-72157607818659428/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vfowler/34113239/

people (mostly girls & women) in yukata:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aeschylus18917/2997225785/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gethiroshima/869168089/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marufish/2645661443/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83626281@N00/2780522230/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quadrophenia/848685418/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcusuke/2807575143/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/absent/2717392691/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/musicasaboroso/2756797380/in/set-72157607818659428/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12453467@N00/207238658/in/set-72157600106979792/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12453467@N00/212780985/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chez_sugi/3731650125/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pefectfutures/2783356690/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oimax/951216007/

at the beach pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_masterchef/39163984/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trektrack/272663916/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ippei-janine/352737582/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrhayata/2676450855/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mika/1501315218/in/set-72157602042162614/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mika/1634306435/in/set-72157602042162614/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfchenier/2041800158/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsuda/182366722/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pict_u_re/3055160234/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrhayata/2983782129/in/set-72157594430718851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajari/3743498584/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edenandjosh/5987327/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cherylandrich/654018783/

mood: hyper
[credit: subliminalicon]