Tuesday 15 July 2014

Travel Tuesday: Building the Gion Matsuri Floats


Those of you who have never been to Japan will probably have never heard of Gion Matsuri. So what is it? Gion Matsuri is the biggest festival in Kyoto and one of the three most famous ones in the whole of Japan! The main event is a parade however it is actually a month long festival throughout the whole of July with events happening every day!

The parade is on the 17th, and from the 10th to the 14th the floats are constructed. I was lucky last year because to get to my language school I cycled past where the floats were being constructed. This meant I got to see them change from just a few poles of bamboo into massive stunning floats.

Below are the photos I took over five days on my way home. I will be writing another post about the main parade so be sure to come back and take a look at photos of the floats in their full glory!




Some of the floats are so tall they are built on their side...
...and then pulled upright with a couple of ropes!





Linking up with Bonnie Rose for Travel Tuesday

Have you ever heard of Gion Matsuri?

6 comments:

  1. Never heard of it but these floats are huge!! Would love to see pictures of the actual parade!

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  2. I have never heard of it. It is great you got so many shots of one being made, it is huge!! And that tree on the top!!

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    1. I know, it was really interesting to see them get bigger and bigger each day!

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  3. wow, this is impressive! it's fascinating to see. i remember carrying much smaller wooden floats with other kids when I was younger, in regular matsuri parades. so much nostalgia :) x

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    1. It was one of the most impressive festivals I saw! I love the smaller local matsuris as well, that's cool that you carried a float!

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