hanabi

I always forget about them... the first sounds of summer here are not really the cicada`s chirping, but the sound Hanabi - fireworks.
I can hear them going off in the park across from our street, punctuated by laughter.

One can buy them almost anywhere in the summer months, and they are truly marketed to little kids, with neon colours, and characters like Doraemon or Anpanman.
Much nicer colours than the ones back home... which were only ever around for Halloween, if an adult bought them.
Some are hand held rockets, or sparklers, others spin on the ground. Some are shaped like little tanks or trains.

Kids set them off just after dusk in special fireworks grounds near poplular places for day-long barbeques, or on the seashore.