One Fish, Two Fish

Today I went across the river to the Gokomiya Shrine festival. I was one day early for the parade, but that doesn't mean there weren't lots of vendors! I bought my favorite festival food, taiyaki (lightly fried batter with sweet bean paste inside, in the shape of a fish), and started wandering around. And then I saw it. A huge tub of brimming with goldfish of all sizes and colors. I couldn't resist. If I couldn't have a dog, cat, or hamster, I might as well have a fish! So, I paid the 300 yen for a paper scooper. The object of this game is to grab a fish before your paper scooper melts. So, remembering the strategy I had read in a magazine, I waited till a moderate sized, black fish with googley eyes swam up to the surface, then I scooped him up. The paper failed just as I placed him in the bucket. Yay! I won a fish! And just because I had tried so hard (or because the fish are so cheap) the man gave me an orange fish too. So now I have two fish swimming nicely in their little bowl that sits on my shelves. I'm not going to name them yet, because that is a sure way to make them die. I really hope they last awhile, although I don't know what I'll do when winter comes and there's no heat in my room.