Aoi Matsuri and Lost in Transition

I wanted to see the Aoi Matsuri. It happens only once a year in one place and involves both Kyoto and the Heian Age. I swore to myself that I would go, even if I had to skip afternoon classes (nothing will ever allow me to skip my Japanese classes--I'll miss so much if I even skip one class!).

So I went.

I managed to have the best timing ever, exiting the station right as the parade was passing. There was a huge turn out--the thinnest part of the crowd was four people thick! It was also super sunny and I swear I could see people steaming--I can only imagine what the parade participants were feeling!

Since I arrived when the parade arrived, I was at the back of the crowd and at a disadvantaged place for photos. I tried my best though, even if I ended up with an inordinate amount of photos of the back of random strangers' heads.

So many people

Look at that awesome hat

And the birds of prey were circling as usual

What's this coming down the lane?

Beautiful women with sunshade!

Some important lady in a palanquin?

And now, women on horses!

LOOK. AT. HER. ROBES. Aren't they gorgeous?

This is the main woman of the show--the princess--wrapped up in 12 layers of kimono. She must have been dying inside, but you couldn't tell by her face. She's the main hero of the shrine ceremony as well.

After the parade headed to the shrine where htey would preform the ceremony, I meandered after. I didn't see anything (there were too many people), so instead I walked around the perimeter of the shrine and listened to the sounds of the flutes and the gongs.

I may have gotten lost, but I hold fast to the philosophy of "You're not lost until you're late" so I had a pleasant time.

I love Kyoto

And look at what is inscribed upon the walls of the train station

Look familiar?

I was schediuled to meet Sara (of A Tale of Two Sarahs fame), but there was a snafu involving wrong trains, dead cell phones, and confusing Japanese that led me to going to an exhibit on Heian Japan at the Kyoto National Museum alone. I decided to go to the exhibit because a) I love the Heian Age and b) Okaasan's parents gave me two tickets for free They've been doing htis for a while (I think they're members and getting this as a part of their member package or something), and I'm very grateful towards them. Anyway, the exhibit was a nice, if not a bit boring towards the beginning, and I headed back to the train station where I was run down by Sarah who had been waiting to apologize for being late (while I frantically apologized for not waiting longer). Thus we rode the train home together and then went and made purikura to document our story.