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!

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.

Kansai Chopper Keychains! ♥ ご当地チョッパーマン: 関西

Part IV of my gotouchi (ご当地, location limited) Chopper Keychains! ♥ Part I was Chubu, part II was Kantou and part III was Tohoku! 

It's been almost a year since I've added to this collection, and this time I got ones from Kansai!

Kansai is made up of 7 prefectures: Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga, Nara, Wakayama and Mie. 

Sometimes, Mie is not included.

Kyoto's Kibune Jinja ♡ 貴船神社

Picturesque path up to Kibune Jinja.

Deep within a cedar forest and side-by-side to a crystal-clear flowing stream, Kibune Jinja is a Shinto shrine located in the northeastern area of Kyoto, about 15km from the city center. 

I was searching for places to visit in Kansai, and I wanted to go somewhere with a lot of nature since Osaka is very city-ish, and so is Kobe. Anyway, Kibune Jinja fit the bill perfectly! It's located uphill, surrounded by numerous trees and a flowing stream, plus the red and black lanterns are gorgeous!

Dedicated to the God of Water, Kibune Jinja is also known as the water shrine, and is over 1600 years old.

 Going up the stairs to the Honguu 本宮, the main shrine. 

It's about an 800m walk from the bus stop!

Tanzaku at Kibune Jinja.

You write your wish on a piece of paper and tie it here, and hope that it will come true!

 Horse statues at Kibune Jinja. 

In the past, dark or white horses used to be offered in instances of too much or too little rain.

Goshinsui 御神水, sacred water. The source is straight from the mountains.

Why do you think they're all gathering around the water? 

Kibune Jinja has a special omikuji (paper fortune).

And since it's a water shrine, the special feature has something to do with water!

You pick a seemingly blank sheet of paper from a stack, and let it float on the water.

As it gets wet, words magically appear! When it dries, the words disappear.

Where you buy the omikuji, omamori, goshuuinchou etc. 

Here you can also ask the staff for English pamphlets with information on the history of the shrine.

   Kibune Jinja is also famed for its musubi-mamori むすび守 (charm for love).

Pink for females, blue for males. 

They come in two forms/shapes, the ones on the left are the "famed" ones.

They don't come cheap though, each one is 1,000yen.

Lovely little waterfall along the side. 

Bridge and path to walk to the middle shrine.

I really like walking the stairs here, the steps aren't steep, the rock is beautiful, the trees are cooling, and it's lined with all the pretty red lanterns and rails.

About 800m uphill from the main shrine is the Yui-no-yashiro 結社, where people pray for marriage.

In the past, the people believed that wishes were granted by the power of the Water God.

And since it's the water shrine, Kibune Jinja is a popular place for praying...for relationships. 

 

 Lovely gravel walking path, lined with tall cedars and bright red lamp-posts.

Close-up of a lantern! 

Hear the calming sound of the water flowing in stream beside you while climbing up.

The cooling water brings the temperature down by 5~10°C!

Finally, Okunomiya 奥宮, the inner shrine. 

It's another 500m from Yui-no-yashiro. 

In the inner shrine is the original location of the Kibune Jinja that was established 1,600 years ago. 

I lost my camera lens cap somewhere here I think! Never found it :(

Guardian statue. 

 The cedar trees are really tall and straight! 

Another lovely little water feature.

Although it was a hot summer day, walking uphill was very pleasant as the flowing water from the stream made the temperature cooler. Also, it was uphill with a lot of trees, which totally lessened the humidity and heat! The temperature was markedly different up here compared to the Kawaramachi area in Kyoto.

Another interesting thing I saw along the way up were these restaurants/tea houses lining the stream.
Built right over the stream, you can dine whilst the rivers flows directly beneath you! 

The water is so clear! 

The part in the bottom left of the picture is the river/stream, you can see right through the water!

I had a lovely morning walking along Kibune Jinja, and would definitely visit again!

It's a nice place for a quite, relaxing walk, and the atmosphere is very peaceful.

To get there, take the Kyoto subway to Demachiyamagi station (出町柳). At Demachiyanagi, transfer and take the Eizan Electric Line to Kibune-guchi station (貴船口). Then take a bus to Kibune bus stop, and follow the path up for about 800m.

If you're coming from Osaka like I did, take the Hankyu line to Kawaramachi (河原町) then walk to Gion-Shijo (祇園四条) to take the Kyoto subway. From Osaka to Kibune-guchi, it takes about 90 minutes.