July 20, 2016

If any one is claustrophobic, I wouldn’t recommend the hotel we stayed at in Kyoto. The Apa Hotel is a franchise of business hotels that are really tiny (compared to American standards), and are built to serve business people who just need a place to sleep but includes all the amenities one would need to look sparkling new at the work place the next day.

We didn’t mind it as the location was great, a couple of blocks from the train station, and it wasn’t too pricey. About $45 per per person when booked on orbitz.com .

And even this rate was more expensive than usual, as we caught the tail end of a festival in Kyoto called Gion Matsuri.

 

 

 

 

 

After settling in to our hotel room, first stop was the Tourist Information center at the train station. They recommended seening the floats that were on display in preparation for the parade this weekend.

 

So we took the subway two stops to Shijo.

The roads had been blocked off and there were vendors selling Whiskey Highball in a can for 100 Yen, or about 98 cents. I’d never had one but it’s always good to try new things.

 

 

 

We walked around and discovered a block party happening in an art museum courtyard.

Where we could try locally brewed Sake:

 

 

And fish on a stick:

 

 

And take a picture of a sign in Japanglish:

 

 

And pose with a Kyoto Festival Mascot:

 

 

As the sun was setting behind the buildings of the city, we saw the glow of the hanging lanterns on the floats beckoning us to take a closer look.

The Gion Masturi is one of the most famous festivals in Japan and takes place in the month of July in Kyoto. And contrary to being named after the historic district of Gion, the festival takes place on the opposite side of the Kamo River. The most spectacular event occurs on July 17th and involves a procession of old, restored floats in an event called Yamaboko Junko. A second parade was added on July 24th in 2014 and it involves fewer and smaller floats. There are evening festivities in the days leading up to each parade called Yoiyama. The floats are impressive, some of them measure up to 75 feet tall and can weigh up to 12 tons. They are pulled on large wheels, some as tall as 6 feet. And during the parade, they are pulled by actual people.

Another reason why this festival is famous is its long history. It dates back to 869 and has continued uninterrupted to today. During Yoiyama, the streets are closed off and some of the older houses in the area open their houses and display old family heirlooms and traditional items for the public to view. This is a good time to experience and see aspects of Old Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next float was one of the more impressive ones on display. Here’s the description that was posted:

 

 

 

 

 

After checking the floats and seeing the house displays, we were ready to find dinner. We came across an Izakaya and gave it our best shot at ordering dinner as the menus were all in Japanese. I think we did pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

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