Saitama-Shintoshin Matsuri

I had such a great time with Charie at the Festival and the weather was perfect! We had originally planned to go there because there was going to be a flea market, but as it turned out (and it had been raining heavily the night before) only a few people showed up for their stalls. So we didn't actually buy anything at the flea market. However... there were rows and rows of food stalls selling various popular food from around the world... yuuuuuuum!

We both got some food cuz we were pretty hungry! Charie had some Korean food and I (of course) had YAKATORI... I'm a little bit addicted!!! I love it! And no... neither of us had the octopus in the photo above... When I first came to Japan this sort of thing would have totally surprised and shocked me, but now it just feels normal to see this kind of thing for sale and after I've taken the photos (as evidence!) and don't give it a second thought! I am certainly accepting how and what the Japanese do. Infact... I love it all!

We heard some drumming and we decided to go and see what was going on! We found the parade part of the festival! It was great spending an afternoon with Charie, she is so positive and excitable about anything and everything, I loved it. We kept moving around so I could take photos from different angles! It was great!

There was lots of dancing, singing and drumming going on, this group looked amazing. They all wore Yukata/Kimono style clothes but they looked like the same material that Saris (Indian ladies clothes/dresses) are made from. Stunning!!! I want to get one!!!! I'm thinking next pay day might call for a stop at the cheap yukata shop in Asakusa, see what they've got for me!!!


I took lots of videos so I won't put them on on the blog but you can find the rest on our flickr page.

There was so much going on and so much to see, and we kept moving all time so we would see something new. I am normally happy when I find a good spot to just stay there and not give it up (typical western thgoughts!), but it was pretty cool seeing the same thing from different angles... it was definitely inspirational for my photography! I love Japanese tradition dances like the one above, the movement in so slow and smooth it's very relaxing to watch... I wonder if it is relaxing to do too!

This one was quite funny to watch. It was much younger people dancing and singing maybe between the ages of 18-30, but I really can't tell how old Japanese people are, everyone looks so young! hehe,
I found this quite amusing to watch, alot more upbeat that the previous one but still such slow movement.

We had a walk around and we saw a crowd of people gathering and in the middle of the crowd was a lady and her performing monkey. I don't know whether it was cruel because he was on a rope lead but he didn't seem to mind doing the tricks... next video is definitely a good watch!

There was so much to see and do, and we both had a great day - and more photos to see on our flickr page :-)