Gion Matsuri Yamaboko Junko in Kyoto ♥ 祇園祭の山鉾巡行

Held annually in July, the Gion Matsuri (祇園祭) is a festival of Kyoto's Yasaka Jinja, and is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. It is well-known for its grandeur and long history, originating in 869.

Visually captivating and magnificent, the float procession, Yamaboko Junko (山鉾巡行) is indubitably the highlight of the festival. ♥ It is held on the 17th of July every year, starting at about 9am at Shijo-Kawaramachi. Yamaboko refers to the two types of floats used in the procession: the 23 smaller Yama (山) and the 9 taller Hoko (鉾).

On the day of the Yamaboko Junko, the usually busy streets are closed to traffic to make way for the spectacular procession of floats. The best place to get a good view is at an intersection, because turning the heavy floats 90-degrees, is itself a spectacular feat to watch.  As the floats make their way down the street, there are various performances to watch as well.

Altogether, there are a total of 32 magnificent floats. Here are 25, in the order that they appeared in.

Though it was a hot day, the blue sky and bountiful light made the colors of the floats shine!

Lots of people took part in the procession, even little children, who were adorable! 

Largest picture: Atop the first float of the procession, the Naginata Hoko (長刀鉾), is the chigo (稚児), the sacred child, a local boy who is selected to be a divine messenger. In the other floats, the child-like figures atop the floats are dolls.

But Kyoto was like an oven that day, baking hot. No one was spared the heat!

Going up to 25-meters high and weighing up to a few tons, the floats are entirely assembled by hand, and no nails or glue is used to hold the parts together. Only rope. To move them along the streets, they are pulled by dozens of men. 

At the front of each Hoko are usually two men holding fans. They are there to pilot and coordinate the movement of the pulling, as the Hoko are heavier than the Yama, requiring about 30-40 men to pull each one.

This was one of my favorite floats: the Kuronushi Yama (黒主山).

I think the (fake) cherry blossoms got my vote!

Atop many of the floats were men playing flutes. 

They sat there and played their songs when the floats came to a halt.

The floats are elaborately adorned with many intricate tapestries and decorations.

Pulling the floats requires much strength and coordination. 

Foreigners can take part in the procession as well!

A doll atop one of the Hoko.

More colorful and spectacular floats passing by.

One of the more visually attractive floats, and another of my favorites: the Fune Hoko (船鉾). 

Fune (船) means boat!

Before each of the floats come, a person bearing a flag with the name of the float walks in front of it.

On the 3 nights before the procession, the streets are also closed in the evening and street stalls are set up selling food and games. You can also use the time to check out the floats, which are on display. There men on the floats playing their flutes, and also children in yukata singing. For a small fee, you can even enter the floats. However some of the floats are restricted to men-only.

I stayed throughout the entire 4-hour procession because I was waiting for the final float, the Oo-fune Hoko (大船鉾), which is supposed to be a large boat...but it was missing?! All that came out was this...the words say Oo-fune Hoko, but there was no float. How odd.

My Olympus Pen died a while after the procession started because I forgot to charge it, but luckily I also brought my older Samsung point-and-shoot, which I think did a pretty decent job. I would have been so devastated if both my cameras were dead! 

I was standing for the entire 4 hours with no shade, as the sun was shining directly at me. Look at the tan I got from just watching the float procession! (´Д`) I think I got kind of dehydrated after as I started to feel woozy after walking off! So I immediately headed to Lawsons and bought like 3 bottles of water which I gulped down. The off to Arashiyama it was! ♥

Arashiyama ♥ 嵐山

After the 4-hour Gion Matsuri procession, where I stood under the hot sun from 8am-12nn, I took the Hankyu line and headed over to Arashiyama since I was already in Kyoto. The sun was strong, but the sky was a gorgeous expanse of blue, and the clouds perfectly white ♥ Arashiyama is a picturesque district in the outskirts of Kyoto, and is a historic site and Place of Scenic Beauty. The bridge, the Togetsukyo, looks stunning over the water, with the mountains in the backdrop.

This is probably my favorite shot of Arashiyama; the sky was so blue, the mountains and greenery in the background, and the flowing water which was so clear! I love visiting places like this; vast expanses of green and blue, with the mountains as a backdrop. Places where the air is so fresh and I just feel so happy standing there ♥ Honestly speaking, I'm not an outdoorsy person and I'm not a big fan of hiking either, but I enjoy going to mountains, highlands and nature places just to see the scenery!

While there, I visited Tenryuuji, Arashiyama's largest temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a large lotus pond before the entrance, and the sunny weather and blue skies made everything look so good! I didn't go into the main hall (there's an admission fee), though I did buy an omamori (good luck charm).

They also had special limited edition Tenryuuji x Hello Kitty omamori cellphone straps! There are six different types: money, love, wish, education, safety and health.

Walking on, I visited Nonomiya Jinja (got another omamori) and passed by the gorgeous bamboo grove.

The path, flanked by rows and rows of tall, straight bamboo with the sunlight peeking in between the leaves, was so pretty to walk along, especially when the bamboo swayed in the wind ♥ It was also very cooling with the bamboo blocking out most of the heat!

There's really so much more to see at Arashiyama, but it was such a hot day ("like an oven", as a friend described it) and I was kind of dehydrated from the walking plus the 4 hours in the morning, so I gave up hiking under the oven-hot sun! I went to Arashiyama via the Hankyu line, but departed using the Keifuku Randen. The Randen station had food and bites to eat, as well as a beer garden (not sure if it's limited to summer?). The Randen line stops by many of Kyoto's World Heritage shrines and temples, so I decided to visit Ninnaji after Arashiyama~ To be continued another day!

Nara Deer Park ♥ 奈良公園

Dear deer! Regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, deer are the symbol of Nara and hundreds roam freely around the park, and they are protected as a National Treasure! Deer crackers can be found for sale at many corners around the park, and you can feed the deer.

Another main attraction of Nara is Kasuga Taisha, a World Heritage Site. It is a 30-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station, though you can take a bus there. The bus is not covered in the Kansai Thru Pass, and since I was literally on my last few hundred yen, I walked to and fro (´Д`) Kasuga Taisha is a very pretty red shrine, and their omamori are gorgeous! Even their ema boards are heart-shaped and so cute!

My favorite photo of Kasuga Taisha! ♥

The grounds are rather extensive with many halls, trees and paths lined with stone lanterns.

On the grounds of Kasuga Taisha there are many deer resting and wandering around. These deer are not shy or afraid of people at all! They occupy all sorts of places in all sorts of positions, like between safety cones, around vending machines, behind stone lanterns, and even in front of store windows! Some deer even walk into the stores! (The ones with automated doors)

Beware of the deer! It didn't happen to me because I wasn't tempting them, but I've heard from friends' experiences that the deer might persistently follow you around if you're eating or holding onto food^^ There are various warning signs around the park cautioning that the deer can bite, kick, head-butt and knock you down! But the deer are quite docile, you can walk up to them and they'll let you pet them.

There are even deer painted on the lamp-posts around Nara Park! Another beautiful summer day, I love the blue of the sky and green of the grass! Beware of rickshaws drivers, they'll come up to you and try to bargain for you to take a ride^^

Visited Yoshikien, a garden that has free admission for foreigners/tourists! It's not very big but the pond is quite pretty. It also has a moss garden and tea house. Right beside it is a larger garden, Isuien, but it has an admission fee.

On the path to the gardens I saw a vending machine, and there are even dedicated buttons on vending machines for the deer! They are a form of donations/fund raising to maintain the deer of Nara Park. I found it funny that they put the line "No drink will be provided." HAHAHA!

Koufukuji, a temple originally built in 710! The pagoda is the 2nd tallest in Japan. Saw two elderly ladies decked in their kimonos paying a visit to the temple. Another sight to see on the grounds is the unique octagonal building^^

Hyakumanben Flea Market 百万遍さんの「手づくり市」

On the 15th of every month, the Hyakumanben Flea Market (Tezukuri Ichi) is held at Chion-ji, a temple near Demachiyanagi in Kyoto. Here you can find a variety of handmade crafts and goodies like dolls, bags, furniture, pottery and etc!

Adorable handmade crabs!

Crafted with Japanese cloth. Lots of the cell phone accessories and straps sold at the flea market are made with that kind of cloth. I don't know what it's called but you can recognize it by the texture and patterns!

Little bags, pouches and phone straps; all handmade too!

Handmade dolls/figurines; I got a bunny!
The maker is a sweet old lady who makes these during her spare time.

Black and white phone straps with interesting patterns.
I regret not getting these!

Handmade tote bags

Wooden beads, buttons and stuff to make your own accessories.

Colorful, cute little baubles! (And a baby)

The flea is held on Chionji's temple grounds, and it was rather crowded^^

More cute phone straps and accessories!

Lots of people come to browse through the selection of handicrafts.

Washi (paper)!

Handmade mobiles!

More handmade bags and even a yukata

Handcrafted stool and other wooden goods!

Handmade cell phone charms

Crockery

Totes and wooden toys

More canvas totes.

To get there, at Shijo Kawaramachi station take bus 31 or 201 from bus stop F, or bus 3 or 17 from bus stop H. Make sure the bus is going in the direction of Gion/Demachiyanagi. Get off at Hyakumanben and walk towards this direction.  Just keep a lookout for the words Hyakumanben " 百万遍".

I wasn't too sure myself, so I followed a group of older ladies who looked like they were heading to the flea...yay gut instinct! You have to walk quite a bit before reaching the temple. The flea market is open from about 9am~4pm.