Japan Trip - September 2009
- Part 4 -All images ©2009 Copyright the author
Day 7
Day seven was spent at the Kishiwada festival. Kishiwada is a southern suburb of Osaka, near the coast on the way to Kansai airport.
Kishiwada Festival
Another bright and sunny morning which started with a picture taken through our hotel window at Osaka.
Just outside Kishiwada railway station.
The town was overflowing with police. These few were on an observation platform just outside the station, facing the arcade through which the floats would come. The officer on the right has a two-way radio on his back. Other officers at each main intersection where the floats turned also had one of these radios.
The observation platform also had a couple of TV camera operators and a photographer.
Scenes from around the streets.
Floats waiting for their turn in the parade.
Young people all around Japan display a remarkable variety of dress.
The highlight of the float parades: watching a float turn a corner. Numerous people attend each float, with a long line of people pulling on ropes, a group around the float itself helping to turn it, some hanging off the sides, I think to help stop it overturning while cornering (they try and run it around the corners), and then another group simply running after it. There is also one guy standing on top of the float jumping around with fans as the float turns. Each float group wears different emblems. Due to the crowds, finding a good spot to see from at the corners was very difficult.
Stalls along one of the streets.
At another intersection where we managed to get a good view of floats turning.
A couple of officials managing the crowds.
Even the police were enjoying themselves.
Another food stall.
In the arcade near the station. There were quite a few non-Japanese people wandering around the place.
And more of the locals.
Day 8
Our last day was spent in Kyoto at the To-ji temple, where there was a monthly market. The place was crowded. We left mid-afternoon to head back to Osaka and out to Kansai airport for the flight home.
The To-ji Temple
Near the entrance to the temple in the market stall area.
Heading from the market area to the main temple.
Lighting incense from candles.
I'm not sure of the main purpose of these cards, but after buying them, they often hold them in the smoke above an incense pot and fan the smoke over themselves.
A smoking incense pot. After lighting incense with the candles, the incense sticks are stood upright in sand in the pot. People then use those cards or their hands to fan smoke over themselves.
Other scenes from around the temple.
This guy is using his hand to rub incense smoke on his shoulders. I saw another woman doing similar to get smoke onto her lower back. Perhaps they try to put the smoke where they have pain or injuries.
And this guy is trying to push his gifts into that box. Inside the box is a platform containing whatever valuable items people want to donate. The items must be assumed to be small though, as the gaps aren't very big, and this guy had trouble fitting his through. At one point he dropped the bag they were in and I saw some small, gold-coloured cups. He managed to squeeze them through one at a time eventually.
All the white stuff in the foreground is raked sand, common in temples throughout Kyoto.
Turtles are a symbol of long-life, and people touch the turtle statue and then touch parts of their body they presumably want to last a long time. A better photo opportunity was an old, hunched-over lady facing the turtle, but unfortunately there were so many people there that my view was blocked before I could take the photo.
