Wednesday, July 23, 2009 | Posted by Jay
The Gion Festival is one of the three biggest festivals in Japan (and it's also held during the hottest time of the year ~ average of about 90F even without the sun). It actually lasts throughout the month of July, but the highlight of the festival is really around the night of the 16th. It's when everyone comes out to check out the sights.
You can see people in yukatas (Japanese informal version of the Kimono, and was originally worn as pajamas in the past), dozens of food stands, parades and traditional music...all night long (and it's a weekday no less!).
Gion Festival
Gion Festival
Gion Festival
Think of July 16th as Christmas Eve, and July 17th as Christmas Day. The next day, you get to see the traditional "floats" in daylight (they're not the modern floats like we see in the Rose Parade, but more like traditional wood-based 2-3 story carts with humongous wheels,
pulled by 14-24 people). There's a rather sexist tradition that says only guys can ride those things, because if girls ride it the float will collapse (bullshit -_-).
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Who is behind TJN?
My name is Jay Lee, and I have traveled to the East Coast of the United States, studied in Kyoto, Japan for a time, and currently live in Southern California.
My preferred art mediums include: digital on adobe products, corel, web; fine on oil-on-canvas or charcoal; photography in black and white, with a focus on portraiture and music; and classical music on piano.
I work as a graphic designer and web developer with a primary interest in marketing, advertising, and business.
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