Monday, December 03, 2007

Chichibu Festival 2007

Chichibu
This is my favorite small town in Japan. It's got charm. It's also got a huge festival in the winter. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this year.

I love taking pictures of old people.

Then again, most of the pictures I took this year were of people.
Making themselves purdy.


sitting on top of one of the huge wooden shrines they drag through the town
The Japanese never miss a chance to humiliate their pets. The other few dozen people with cameras commented that the dog was cool or handsome. No accounting for taste I suppose.
LinkAnd while every one here thinks it's cold or winter. It still feels like autumn to me.

Last year I took more pictures of the actual festival. I'm sure mr. sonicllama will post all about it soon too.
Here are some fave pics from last year.
So yeah, they pull--on round wood squeaky wheels--7 mikoshi, or portable shrines, through the streets. The turn corners, chant, and steadily drink themselves silly all day. Apparently if they need 30 people to pull a shrine they'll recruit 50 to account for lack of sobriety. Ah Japan, how I love you.






and the adventures continue...

3 comments:

Seph said...

Man. Poor dog.

kb said...

I thought the sunglasses were a particularly evil touch.

Seph said...

Man. Didn't even notice those the first time. He looks like some sort of crazy-weird entrant in a Jimmy Buffet doggy look-a-like contest. Or something.