Festival season in Kansai!

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Ikeda City Aki (autumn) Matsuri (festival), a couple of weeks ago, was one of the best experiences of this whole trip. Simply seeing it would have been enough, but we were lucky enough to be involved in all of the rituals, and treated like special guests in being welcomed into the shrine and given a private performance from the temple girls. Just increadible.

Jidai Matsuri in Kyoto with Mari and Misa (girls from the English class Amelia and I are teaching...). Hundreds of people dressed up in clothes of the different periods of Japanese history for a parade through the streets of Kyoto.

Kansai Uni School Festival: Oct 31st-Jan 3rd... A festival run by students for students and the public... 300 food stalls, 5 outdoor stages, numerous classrooms housing lives of different bands, fashion parade, comedians from all over the country, sports, and non-stop entertainment...

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Photos

Aki Matsuri
Two of the four boys who were carried to the temple in the omikoshi as they chanted and played their drums in perfect unison for the 3 hours, whilst kneeling in the painful zazen position...

Aki Matsuri
Pretending we'd be strong enough to lift the omikoshi (HUGE wooden float). We had the Happi coats, to feel like we were helping at least!

Aki Matsuri
Arahori San.

Aki Matsuri
Check out the padding- very necessary for lifting that thing

Aki Matsuri
Looked like fun to be in their position, being thrown up and down.

Aki Matsuri
Up hill!! Then came the stairs. And of course the reverse!

Aki Matsuri
The temple girls who gave us the private show after festivities had ended

Aki Matsuri
The boys from the floats were considered the messengers of the gods, so had to be carried to and from the temple without their feet touching the ground

Jidai Matsuri
Mari and Misa

School Festival
1/2 day preparation included decorations

School Festival
more decorations

School Festival
and EVERYONE in the circle/club was involved.