Gion Matsuri! (Day 119)

The whole month of July is filled with Gion related festivities, with the main event being the parade on the 17th. Three days before the parade, the main streets are shutdown to normal traffic, and the entire downtown area is inundated with pedestrians and street vendors. I wasn't able to make the parade due to typhoon, but I did check out the festivities on the 16th.

Here are some of my friends (from left to right): Guillermo (Spain), Haruna (Japan), Lena (Germany), Clara (Germany), Yuri (Japan), Kenji (Taiwan), and Oscar (Bolivia). Also present but not pictured were Adam (Michigan), Nick (Michigan), and Felix (Germany).

It was insanely crowded. State Fair doesn't compare.

You saw lots and lots of people in traditional clothing.

You can see the rows of food vendors that seem to go on endlessly. In the foreground you can see Adam's novelty Taiyaki hat. Adam is a very large guy, well over 6' 0" and built like a lineman. He drew a lot of attention with this hat, which was actually only one in a collection of silly hats. He was constantly stopped and asked for pictures, and you could hear people whispering "sugoi" (amazing) and "deke" (huge) as they passed him.

Adam's hat again. Here you can see some people checking it out and Lena laughing at him.

Some kimono.

It was really unique being a part of that crowd and all of that energy. The collectivist culture in Japan makes it feel like you're really part of the crowd and part of the event.