Matsuri

It's matsuri (festival) season! A week ago, I went with some friends to a matsuri about an hour away. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the matsuri, or even where it was - except that it was somewhere out near the American school - so I'll never be able to find it again. But it was cool!

Basically, it was a parade of lantern-type floats. It started with the taiko drums and flutes.

 They were followed by these guys. I have no idea what they represented.

They were followed by the floats, which were huge and extremely elaborate, with all sorts of drama on one side and then peaceful on the other. They were pushed/pulled down the street and turned in a circle every so often so that everybody could get a good view of all the sides.

Unlike other festivals I've been to, there wasn't a lot of festival food or anything like that, but it was a fun and beautiful neighborhood festival.