The Gardena Buddhist Church obon was on August 4, 2007 from 3pm-10pm and August 5, 2007 from 2pm-9pm. It was one of the biggest obons I've ever attended.

The dance track alone had to be out on the street, for there were too many people to dance inside! And, the track took up an entire block! When I arrived on Saturday at 5:30pm, the area was already crowded, and lines had already begun to form in front of the food and game booths. I couldn't even find parking that was close by. But, it was all worth it.

It's a good thing I arrived when I did, too, because by 6pm, you could barely walk due to the amount of people that were there. I asked myself later how this one event attracted so many people. I decided that it had to be due to the food. The food lines were, by far, the longest.

And, the food really was very good. I had some really fresh and delicious spam musubi, as well as some sweet and tasty dango. The game and performances weren't all that bad, either. :) I watched as the taiko players performed, and as children tried their best to win prizes at the game booths.

All in all, I had a blast. This collection features pictures of the obon taken by myself and contributing photographer, Vicky Murakami-Tsuda. I'll warn you now about the pictures of food. Viewing them may cause extreme hunger. I know they did for me!