Gion Matsuri (Festival!!!)

If you think of Narita, do you only picture the international airport? How about the rest of the city?? Well, you must know about the Gion Matsuri (summer festival)! It was nice to experience this wonderful festival and I definitely recommend it to those who are interested in the summer festivals in Japan.

It was only me, Kenji, my Aunt and Uncle who went and Kenneth was yet again missing in action. He's not dead only rarely home (it's a thing they call work). My Aunt told me that she gets really dizzy inside the car and she claims its the car smell and perfume. I told her that she just probably needs excercise since she doesn't really do much. And then I also started getting carsick. I can't believe it. It's definitely the car smell and perfume!!

The location for the Gion Matsuri is in the Narita-san Shinshoji (Narita Shrine) and throughout the city of Narita.

  The shrine atrracts millions of worshippers a year so it's pretty big. There were lots of people when we got there but not that very crowded. The parade hasn't started yet so we walked up to the temples first.

My Uncle and Aunt kept noticing Kenji's falling pants.  My cousin was definitely aware of course and he kept on pulling it up. He intended to have his pants that way for.. ugh i dont know. He just wants to be ugh.. cool I guess?? Must be the latest fashion craze?!  This was how I think to have that style:

1st. Grab a pants thats twice your size.... 2nd. Use a huge belt around your waist but NEVER really use it as a belt to hold your pants up but just to make you look cool.  3rd.  Don't wear your pants too high, make your underwear a bit exposed.

4th. Be alert of your pants. Keep hold on it every 10 seconds when it's already falling down. 5th. Never wear your Pokemon underwear just in case the 4th rule slipped through your mind (oh for goodness' sake Ultraman underwear if you have no idea what Pokemon is!).

After walking around the temple grounds and taking pictures, we finally heard the drums rolling, a sign that the parade has finally started.  The parades consisted of floats and carts, and on these carts were men playing traditional drums and flutes. And there were also some men who stood on top of the float and danced the folk music that were being played.

Well, these carts have to move so there were hundreds of people who pulled them up the steep slope to the temple's main hall and then around the town.

People of all ages joined the pulling. Young, young at heart and the old, dressed in their hanten kimono, held the rope and pulled (some only looked like they were pulling). Along with the carts, the parade also incuded groups of little girls hitting steel rods on the road for reasons I do not know.

I was really clueless half of the time on this festival. I would walk with the parade without me really knowing why I was doing so. I just went with the flow and tried to just blend it. I'm not sure if I was successful though or I actually looked like a complete moron like what I felt that time when after walking up the hill I immediately had to walk back down when I realized that the floats are being pulled back down the hill and I was afraid I was going to be run over.

^^

After the parade, Kenji and I walked around the stalls. I bought a keychain as a souvenir and felt a bit grumpy when I found out I was missing my 500yen coin. It sucks when I lose money or even think that I lost money even though I really didn't but couldn't remember. We just walked around again until we were called to go home.

Before we went home we went to the park again near the airport where you can watch airplanes. And then we had dinner at Gusto, hmmmm very yummy Hamburg steaks!!! hehehehe... ^^