Tuesday 29 July 2014

Travel Tuesday: Gion Matsuri


So, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Japanese festival Gion Matsuri and explained how I saw the building of the floats everyday on my way to language school. Well this week I am showing photos of the big parade.

Gion Matsuri is a very lively festival where huge floats are pulled through the streets. There are floats for each neighborhood and on top of each float are groups of musicians. I love the music of Gion Matsuri. It is so distinctive and in the weeks prior to the festival you can hear it playing in shops. Like all the Christmas music you hear in winter.

The best way to experience Gion Matsuri is to stand on a road corner which is part of the parade route. This means you get to see the floats being maneuvered gradually around the corner which is much more interesting than seeing them go straight past you one after the other. 

I have seen many Japanese festivals, but Gion Matsuri was definitely one of the most impressive!













Linking up with Bonnie Rose for Travel Tuesday

Don't you think the floats look quite different from when they were being built?!

8 comments:

  1. The wheels are bigger than the people next to them. That's INSANE!!! I would totally love to watch this parade. Must be an awesome experience!!

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    1. I know, I never imagined that they would be so big! It was a really amazing experience!

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  2. This is amazing! Your post are always taking me out of my comfort zone and showing me things I'd never even imagined. This festival/parade looks wonderful - I would love to witness something like that one day! I love the costumes (is it terrible to call them costumes? traditional dresses?) and the floats!

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    1. Thank you Camila for your lovely comment! I'm glad I can show people how amazing Japanese culture is. I think it's fine to call them costumes :) they were very beautiful and detailed!

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  3. I love reading about the Japanese culture. It is so vibrant. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You're right, everything is very colourful and vibrant!

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  4. Wow...those look wayyyyy bigger when they are all so vibrantly dressed! What an amazing thing to have seen!

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    1. I know, such a change from the first photos I took of them!

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