Archive for August 2009

Summer 2009 festivals

August 30, 2009 What's New Comments Off

I got a lot of summer festival videos online at YouTube, especially awa odori:

Koenji Awa Odori 2009 1/3
Koenji Awa Odori 2009 2/3
Koenji Awa Odori 2009 3/3
Minami-Koshigaya Awa Odori 1/2
Minami-Koshigaya Awa Odori 2/2
Aoishin-ren at Minami-Koshigaya Awa Odori
Mitaka Awa Odori 1/2
Mitaka Awa Odori 2/2
Nakamurabashi Awa Odori 1/5
Nakamurabashi Awa Odori 2/5
Nakamurabashi Awa Odori 3/5
Nakamurabashi Awa Odori 4/5
Nakamurabashi Awa Odori 5/5
Kita-Urawa Awa Odori 1/3
Kita-Urawa Awa Odori 2/3
Kita-Urawa Awa Odori 3/3
Otsuka Awa Odori, Tokyo
Matsuri Tsukuba and Nebuta Parade
Sendai Tanabata Matsuri 2009 1/3
Sendai Tanabata Matsuri 2009 2/3
Sendai Tanabata Matsuri 2009 3/3
Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri 2009
Fukushima Waraji Matsuri 1/2
Fukushima Waraji Matsuri 2/2
Asakusa Samba Carnival 2009
Hachioji Matsuri, Tokyo
Yokohama Port Opening Expo
Kanko Maru Yokohama cruise
Yokota Air Base Japanese-American Friendship Festival 2009
Fussa Tanabata Star Festival
Asagaya Tanabata Matsuri

Here are the photos:
Koenji Awa Odori 2009
Minami-Koshigaya Awa Odori
Mitaka Awa Odori
Kita-Urawa Awa Odori, Saitama
Nakamurabashi Awa Odori 2009, Nerima
Otsuka Awa Odori, Tokyo
Matsuri Tsukuba and Nebuta Parade
Kaminoyama Castle, Yamagata
Yokota Air Base Japanese-American Friendship Festival 2009
Fussa Tanabata Star Festival
Asagaya Tanabata Matsuri
Fukushima Tanabata
Hachioji Matsuri, Tokyo
EXPO Y150: Yokohama Port Opening 150th
Edogawa Fireworks

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Tohoku summer festivals in Sendai, Yamagata, and Fukushima

August 11, 2009 What's New Comments Off

I finally revisited Sendai during Aug. 6-8 to see the famous Tanabata Festival, the grand daddy of all Tanabata Matsuris in Japan. I was not disappointed. Sendai’s Tanabata is definitely a few notches above any other Tanabata in Japan. Most of the streamers are made of paper instead of plastic. And all those origami paper cranes. I shudder to think how many man-hours were spent to make them. Click on the image to see more photos.

From Sendai, I took a day trip to neighboring Yamagata to see the Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri, an evening parade of dancers wearing a flower hat.

On the way back to Tokyo, I stopped by Fukushima to see the Fukushima Waraji Matsuri Festival which is another evening dance parade with a twist. Sometimes you see dancers wear waraji straw sandals.

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