Matsuri at Himonya Hachiman Shrine
Today we went with some friends to Himonya Hachiman Shrine for a matsuri (festival). I wish I could bottle up the smells and tastes and sounds for all of you, because they’re amazing. But I can show you some of the sights, at least.
Because of a little glitch, we start at the end, with Z getting a little ride. (The cart had been left on the street, so we took it back to the store.)
The matsuri was on the grounds of the shrine. The stalls were kind of haphazardly arranged, with gorgeous food smells everywhere. That, combined with the gorgeous trees, drum and flute music coming from the shrine (recorded, not live), and the laid back atmosphere, made for a lovely experience.
The girls had a great time on the see-saw, especially once Kaoru-san joined in.
A little caterpillar friend.
I love the red polka dot obi with the black and white yukata.
Big ol’ chunk of kabob meat . SO DELICIOUS. The owner of the stall was from Turkey, and has lived in Japan for about 3 years.
Squiiiiiid.
I love the tentacles!!
I’m pretty sure this is a flier for a play of Frog and Toad are Friends. It says Futari wa tomotachi, which roughly means, A couple of friends.
We were able to get close to the mikoshi (portable shrine) and I got some detail shots. So beautiful! (There’s more below, things got a little out of order.)
The girls got to beat on the taiko drum.
To finish out our adventure, we stopped in a little shoe store by the train station. I wasn’t really intending to buy anything, but when I saw these, I had to try them on. The display pair were a little too small, so I put them back and moved on. Kaoru, who hadn’t seen me try them on, came in and walked straight to them (I was looking at a different pair) and said, “ooooooooh!” I told her that I’d tried them on and they were too small, and she said, “Oh, we have to get you a bigger size!” She talked to the sales guy and got the next size, and when I tried them on they fit perfectly, and long story short (too late!) they came home with me.
And that was our day. 🙂
Love this post! Also, the shoes. Thanks for sharing your world (also, don’t know why, but the shot of the booths under the trees reminded me of Ohlone Day at Henry Cowell State Park.)
Yay for shoes! Gail would love these, too. I’ll tell her about your find.
The festival looks marvelous! I like that guy from Turkey! Brilliant! I don’t know why, but it just stayed with me. I am more jealous than ever of the magnificent adventure your family is having in Japan.
That huge amazing tassel-rope-thing is my new best friend!