祭り2008

always nice to see people up and about wearing yukatas. the kids look so cute. that reminds me, I should pick up one on my next trip there for my daughter to use when she's a bit older. ^^
lol on images 22024, the choco bananas look like dolphins on sticks. but they do taste yummy. ^^
I had a turtle when I was young, unfortunately the neighborhood cat ate him. never liked cats ever since.
wow on airsoft as prizes, it'll cost an arm and a leg here just to buy one marui airsoft gun here.
btw is that Musashi-Koyama?

I'd love to go to a matsuri, and I hope me and my friends will be able to attend one when we come down to Japan next month. I don't suppose October will be a popular time with matsuris, Danny? ^^;

I shouldn't have read this post when i have not eaten dinner. lol =x
There is matsuri in Singapore too but nothing as fancy as Japan for sure :)

O_o I always wanted to attend such festivities. There are a ton of festivals being held here every year, but I only managed to attend only a few and those were in my province when I was a kid. But it's sure that when I go to Japan, I would definitely go and watch some festivals.

Those "fish on a stick" seems too big to swallow whole isn't it? I only eat fish whole if they're small enough. I always wanted to try those fish-catching games. I always see them on anime and I would like to know just how hard it is to catch one.

Selling airguns there in the open might be ok and all but here it isn't. Those can easily be mistaken for real firearms and criminals can use those to fool their victims. Plus, you might get wrongfully arrested by the police since it is against the law here to show your airgun in the open.

I tot Matsuri is only during summer....

Anyway, I always dreamt of going to a matsuri. Everytime I watched an anime showing about matsuri it makes me want to be there right away. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to go Japan at the moment. But one day...

man....Australia....IS SO BORING
i wanna at least go back to HK

I remember in china there is tarantula on a stick...TARANTULA
It's like deep fried and stuff, you first grab it by the bulbuous part, rip that off and suck- oh man i'm gonna be sick...

Airsoft laws here???
STRICTLY PROHIBITED T________T

also WASSHOI WASSHOI WASSHOI

I can't stop imagine Danny in fundoshi and go with shrine running team instead of his armor lol

we have some festivals like that around here, but the japanese festivals look amazing and peaceful.compared to ours where you always have rival gangs always going at it.

I love Tako Yaki.

I don't think the chicago police would let venders sell airguns specially around my former neighborhood.

All in all it looks like everyone had a great time. hopefully I will get to go to a matsuri when I am stationed out there sometime next year.

Hey Danny, did you attend the matsuri in Storm Trooper suit or in did you go disguised as Danny Choo?

LOL those stall with the Wiis... Liars! So you can't win no matter how hard you try? That's just sad...

"The lighting at Matsuri is usually quite poor so watch your step or you could fall with your hands wide open and grab somebodies soft n bouncy eyes - and you would not want that to happen would you?"
I don't mind this happening to me LOL

Looks like you had a great time Danny! Thanks for sharing your pictures and experiences!

Aww~ the kids look so cute~ especially the one in #22054, fufufu xD;;

We have a Chinatown just 2 stations away from my place, they celebrate chinese new years and possibly other festivals, but I'm not really aware of them. Otherwise since Australia is so multi-cultural, each community will generally have some sort of mini festival in their area, but I'm never aware of them... Maybe I should look it up =o

How do you find out when the festivals are held?

Ah ... i always miss the natsu matsuri i have here in singapore........ hosted in the japanese pri school...
I feel so left out haha

I had turtles, rabbits, hamsters, koi fish,

HAD ... :) turtle died of age ... rabbits too ... hamsters sold off due to over reproduction, originally had 3 and end up with 34 in 2 years ... Koi fish poisoned by growth in pond. now i only have guppies in the pond

I like "young" and "cute" Japanese girls in Yukata so I definitely need to be getting myeslf to one of those matsuri one of these days. Need to save money to even get to Japan first though =_=

lol if i wasn't a regular reader, i would have thought you have a festish for kids, judging from the photos you were taking... not that i am complaining though, in fact what this site lacks is more photos of kids, so as to balance the exorbitant amount of ecchi stuff over here

ooo do ya have a close up shot of those potatoes in image#22035? i have a weakness for tofu and potatoes... used to have them for meals everyday because of we were poor... sob sob.

i know fish has balls too! there's one festival i do want to go to at least once. but i missed it this year. the kawasaki fertility festival ^^. i usually remember it as the "big dick" festival.

Australia, nothing much happens, maybe Mid-Autumn festival with all the lanterns and stuff. Japanese ones are so huge.
Stop scaring the people with octoballs =o

Nice. All we have around here are religious festivals mostly and "fiestas" for foundation days.

I would love to go to one of those matsuri, probably in the future. lol at "You see this Wii? Well you cant have it" game. I currently own a turtle, and it amazes me how they grow pretty fast.

One more reason why I would love to live in Japan...

wow! so much fun!!
"Have a chance to win a Wii" mechanic = haha~ sure fire thing to boost your earnings^^

Even though I went to Japan this year, there wasn't any Japanese festival...sadly..
I would love to wat tako yaki!!!!!!
LOL at airsoft guns sold there...
Chocolate cover banna...I would get one but depends on how long itès been there...
Well, at least I get to go to a shrine when I went to Japan!!!

Hwa~ Culture. :o

I wonder if there are going to be any matsuri during my travels... hm.

uwaa.. only saw these in anime. I want to go and catch goldfish! ;_;

its really nice to see such cultural and religious occasions still alive in this advancing hi-tech world, thought that some of them are already lost somewhere in the canal ^^;

May I add a shameless link to my Flickr set of pictures of Japanese festivals?

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/elmimmo/sets/72157600170806949/>

Special emphasis on how übercool Yosakoi is.

Do have festivals here and there in Singapore, but usually it doesn't go on such a grand scale. Most are Chinese festivals. Used to have fish and even terrapins. Well most fish died, and 2 grew so big the tank wouldn't fit them. Gave them away to someone who had a private pond ^^;
Not sure what happened to the terrapins though :P

Damn I'd sure like to visit these Japanese festivals sometime soon =/

Need to come and see that sometime!!! Don't get festivals like that here in Scotland. Back in England there were plenty.

Looks exciting! Hopefully I can partake in a matsuri when I visit Japan...

When im in Japan, I surely dont wanna miss it :)

Well actually just 3 weeks ago I was on a festival called "Honey Gathering Festival" in my mother's home town. Of course it is nothing like Japanese matsuri although there were lots of food stalls as well. It is more of a folk then religious event and it is a celebration of (as the name says) late summer honey gathering. It is an old tradition passed in this area from generations to generations. Come to think of it where were a lot of kids wearing some traditional outfits too, singing and dancing *_*...

This was a post that I was actually sad to see end when I got to the last photo. I hope to see some more of these asap, preferably ones with these "cute girls in yukatas" you mentioned. ^^; Maybe fall down a couple times too? I kid I kid. Imagining Danny "Falling" down would be pretty hilarious though.

Was just at a matsuri last weekend, carrying the Mikoshi. Good workout. ^___^

Nice, all those festivities. Really hope to be able to go to one eventually. BTW with the new layout, the width (and thus height) of the pics seems a bit small in comparison to the widt of all text. Since we have the space now, bigger pics won't be bad. Even prettier (but probably more difficult): text next to pics, like in a newspaper

haha, I found amusing the fact that almost in every festival some people organized to sell food..Lol. I think it happens everywhere..haha

Great coverage. Ive been to quite a few matsuris on my various trips to Tokyo as they often coincide with the new year and sakura season. I just LOVE the food there. Its really cruel as you eat til you are full, then you keep seeing stalls selling increasingly delicious food, but you cant eat any more!
Pretty cool/ surprising that they sell airsoft guns there - i cant see that happening at carnivals in the UK!

The lightning seems to be really reeeaaally poor considering from your pictures.
In Animes they always have this wonderfull atmosphere orange light on matsuris which gives em a nice atmosphere... but rl is sooo different *sigh*. ^^;

When i was the first time in Japan there was some kind of Matsuri going on in Tokyo, least there were a ton of laterns hung up... but i have no clue which one it was, nor did i have the time to actually see some of the action. ;(

The matsuri looks fun ,always wanted to attend one ^.^ . It seems the teenagers still like going to these kinda places. Hope there will still be alot of young girls wearing yukata when i finally can attend one ^.^

There's one in Sinagpore than they call the "pasar malam". It's something like the matsuri, but it's either me, or the time where they arrive in any specific region of Singapore dose not follow any set season or time; the two so far this year were during May and September. I like the food there, but my mum keeps telling me that it's not healthy to eat a full meal there. ^_^|||

Oh, I want the little Winnie the Pooh toys that are floating around in the water. How cute. :)
I always thought the fish and turtle scooping games were interesting. I wonder how long they tend to live once take home?
In my home town, we had festivals, but nothing like that. We hold the Lonesome Dove Festival in the early fall, at the start of dove hunting season. It's a really big deal there. Around the same time we hold an event called Town and Country Days, which usually has a parade and maybe a carnival or something. Bluebonnet Days is a similar celebration held in April. And then for Christmas, there's always a bit hullabaloo across the country. We also have a Stock Show and Rodeo event, which I think may be around the same time as Town and Country Days, but I can't remember anymore. A lot of these things have parades, arts and crafts exhibits, live music, lots of food, and various exhibits.
When I was in elementary school, we did a big Halloween festival at the school, but I don't know if they do that anymore. That's where we had all the sorts of games and things that you'd see at a festival like matsuri, but FAR less grand in scale (it was basically all in the school gymnasium). So I guess that's closer to a school festival.

Sadly in my region they don't have anything similar to matsuri. There are some festivals but those have different themes and are usually not very entertaining:P

Last month theres Matsure in LA in Little Tokyo.
Did my coverage for Grand Parade, but too lazy to post up Matsuri closing with the odoris.

Oh, airgun is illegal in Malaysia.

Nice festival and some stuff. In philippines, our festival call it "Fiesta".

Nice photos. It looks great and funny. It reminds me some festivals in Paris. I love octopus, I must taste Tako Yaki !

Went to a matsuri back in Singapore, need to go to one in Japan someday XP! Want a chocolate banana, maybe I can make at home (bought some bananas last nite) lol

Around here there isn't a shrine or anything, however there are occasional fairs being thrown. They aren't exactly like a matsuri, but they do have vendors selling food and little prize games to be won. Except instead of having that catch fish thing with the flat pan thing that you show, we have a throw a very bouncy pingpong ball and make it land into a small hole to get a fish game. All these little festival or fair games are all so friggen rigged I swear (either rigged or damn near impossible).

I love how the children in your pictures seem to be having mad fun, seems matsuris is something the community really does get together and participate in. And btw I love Tako Yaki, I order them too much whenever I go to a Japanese restuarant, too good, too good.

I've never seen anyone selling airguns here, but you can get a real gun pretty easily.

Nice coverage, makes me want to go to Japan more to experience those cultural festivals. ^^

No festival like Matsuri here i think, though it may be held in other parts of the country where there are lots of chinese or japanese people living here.
I was familiar with this festival through many anime i've seen. i would like to trip and fall on some soft "eyes" but i would have to look out for her airgun weilding bf if she has one. i dont want a butt full of pellets...
Airguns are allowed only for sport but i think a background check is done on the person wanting to own one. Airguns are available only through gov weapons manfg companies. We can import but cost goes to about twice of what the imported once will be. (~_~)
guess octopus need to pee too since they're always in water, so they have balls. all in all a wonderful post. i loved it :)

no festivals around here. I live in a cold and dead industrial area T_T.

So much coolness... wish I could go to a matsuri. The UK has similar stuff I spose, Village fetes, lots of games and stuff there, but no dressing up. Sometimes a barn dance(lol) afterwards, I've never been to one.. avoided it like the plague... but the actual fete is very fun. Guinea pig racing (LOL), coconut shy's, welly-boot-chucking, plate smashing(yay for mindless destruction!!! So much fun...) tombola, lucky dip, ice cream, Toffee apples and tea and cakes for the older people lol. Theres more, but I shant list it all.

I'd like to think I would try Takoyaki if I ever had the chance... but the idea of octopus... or any squid.... eating it... blarg.... Chocolate banana's would be too bad. But fish on a stick... no thank you...

We have several matsuri around here, but they're scaled down. I miss the ones back in Japan (especially Tanabata and Nebuta).

Danny, I'm going to send you some change. Send me back some mayo-tako. ^_^

There are many different cultural and family-type fairs, mostly during the summer. Of course, there is always the state fair, every summer.

Some of the festivals are dedicated to some culture or another. There was an Italian festival earlier in the month, as well as a Macedonian festival and a church-run family fair last weekend.

I'm not sure about air-guns. I think you need a firearms permit to get one in New Jersey.

E^D

I miss going to real festivals as a child. ;_;

Gah, I was hoping to goto one of those summer matsuri but couldn't really find one around during August, or I had other things planned during those days. How do you find out about these matsuris?

o_O I hated those festivals when i was young... now I'm old... and dunno if its okay or not =_=

I guess there are similar stuff over here but not to that scale...air guns are pretty commonly sold over here but pretty expensive...how much are they in Japan anyway?...

The main attraction for me would be the food and yukata babes. Do they always have fireworks at matsuri or its just what we see on TV?

I still haven't gone to Japan yet, so no matsuri for me. :(

I think you asked about other matsuri-like events, and the county fair was something a lot of people here in the States thought was the closest. But rather than being a tone of "OMG end of summer!", county fairs have their roots in farming and "OMG start of harvest!", so you get a lot of livestock entered in competitions. Actually, you get a lot of stuff entered in competitions, usually, but virtually all county fairs at least have a livestock competition. Which for some reason occasionally includes bunnies. Yeah.

We have some festivals here, but they seem to be few and far between (summer is fairly short so there's not much time to have these sorts of things). Wish there was something like this around even once a month though - I'd make a point of going.

Not in my hometown, but were I'm currently living, there are small matsuris every couple of months.

But they are nothing compared to the japanese ones... we only have up to 7 stands, 3 of which usually have japanese food, and not many options at that.
Usually: Yakisoba, sosu-yaki and udon.

But every couple of matsuris we have a bigger one.. still smaller than japanese ones, though.

I've been in one matsuri in Japan, but it wasn't as traditional as the ones at the pics Danny took.
I think they had that every sunday, and it was more like a fair... not many people in kimono and stuff.
I'd love to go in a traditional one... they show up in several animes. ^^'

About BB guns, they are forbidden in Brazil. Years ago, when they became very popular, lots of people bought it (including me). And then, criminals started using it at robberies because they looked too real.

And so, it was forbidden.

I don't think there are any festivals where I live, pretty boring here.
Also, those baby turtles would be illegal to sell in the US (risk of salmonella poisoning from not washing hands after handling them), but the pet store I used to work at sold them anyway since they were popular.

Great photos! That festival looks like a great event to observe culture and people watch!

In the USA we have the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC, which is a pretty huge gathering. It's traditional and modern at the same time. Plenty of cultural performers and saki to enjoy. They even have Jpop and some otaku goods!

www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

that actually looks like fun ^.^

matsuri in japan is always fun^^
btw,some of the places in those pic seems abit like ikebukuro,not sure thou :p ah,i miss tokyo~_~

My parents make tako-yaki in our restaurant so I know what you're trying to see evil Danny!

Waitamin... where's the fireworks? Or have the anime I watched all lied to me T_T

i love japanese festivals! back on Guam, there would be one held each year (i think) in november. we'd always go (since my grandma is okinawan and all) there'd be that tower with a taiko drum on top and then people would dance in unison. and lots of games to play. hehe.

There's actually an annual Japanese themed festival here around August. Usually a 2 day event held at a park near the Chinatown/Downtown area. Though not as much stands and people they do have the Mikoshi march and usually a Taiko performance by the local Taiko group. If anyone else living in or near the Vancouver, BC area is interested I suggest searching "Powell Street Festival" in google for more info. Not sure if we're allowed to post links in comments. But a lot of times sites are just wuteveritis.com anyway. *hint hint*

I freaking love matsuri!!! When I go there its mostly about the food, and fire works. I was still little that time...cotton candy, takoyaki, taiyaki, oconomiyaki, ikayaki, yaki yaki yaki yaki goodness... oh and Kakigōri in summer melon flavor~~

gf says she likes my castella balls, and jagga butter...

oh, i'm so naughty...

How exciting! I've always wanted to go to one. :]

just google chinchin yaki picture.. and i was like -_-""""
btw, this festival only in summer? or?

How many balls do octopus have? 8?

Hmm, i see masks and airguns...

could be a scene from a SABU flick ^^

I'm planning a trip in Japan in august, I hope I will be able to go to that kind of festival.

Airguns in France are not widely available, there are only few shops that sells them. But it's really expensive and is cheaper to buy directly from HK. The law don't allow you to walk in public with this kind of toy, you have to keep it in a bag or something. And if you threaten somebody with something that look like a gun, it is considered as it was a real firearm, even if it's a black watergun, so a bad joke can put you in prison for a long time...

Airguns used to be the rave when I was still a kid but now I think they are illegal here to be sold or displayed publicly. It is because bank robbers could get away with a bank heist having those toy guys as their firearms. As politicians made it into a big moral issue that kids should be playing with other toys rather than with guns.

About festivals, Maybe only the rural areas. Now the urban communities find it less and less a hassle to hold such events.

I saw a matsuri when I went to Japan for the first time in summer of 2006. It was fun but the sheer number of people that came to see fireworks overwhelmed me. It was like seeing Comiket in some local city >_<

Something similar to matsuri in US would be Fourth of July celebration but we only have fireworks and no fancy vendors like from above T_T

In San Francisco, during the summer there are quite a few matsuri in Japantown, but the biggest one is the Sakura Matsuri in April. Lasts two weeks, with all the big events on the weekends. It ends with a huge parade on the final Sunday.
Here are some of my pictures from this year’s parade:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victor_lee/2444069209/in/set-72157604751606153/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victor_lee/2445074916/in/set-72157604751606153/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victor_lee/2445069052/in/set-72157604751606153/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victor_lee/2445160352/in/set-72157604751606153/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victor_lee/2445174826/in/set-72157604751606153/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victor_lee/2444353231/in/set-72157604751606153/

Fellow Gaijin there? lol.

Danny, do you have permanent residence status in Japan or have you already naturalised?

Japanese festivals seem rather exciting with many fun things that I at least don't see often. They know how to enjoy life.

The festivals in my area are pretty small. The entire town has about 10k people total. But the food is the same, as are the games. My favorite food is probably obanyaki.

There hasn't been a 'proper' Festival here in *years!* I recall there being certain events, things unique to South Africa as well. Sadly, there seems to be less of those types of festivals, like the essence is gone. So, in comparison, I think the Japanese festivals seems more enjoyable.

there's the gion matsuuri in kyoto that i go every year. probably the biggest one for all of the summer matsuuri in kansai.

There are also a ton of festivals here in the Philippines, especially in the province!

Anyways, I always wanted to go to a Japanese festival with a girl. But alas, I can't even get a girlfriend T-T

The closest thing would be going to a local festival with my childhood female friend...

Yukata Shojo´s huh?!?Matsuri is THE place for me!!! btw: Lol at the "Thomas the Tank Engine"-Cosplay, i would like to see people actually wearing it.

I wish festivals here was as fun as the ones there. :| Every time we have a similar festival (we don't have the stalls and games though :| ) there's always a LOT of people who are sent to the hospital. :| And that scenario is most likely to happen during religious festivals :|

I really wish i could have attended a festival while i was there this spring.

Airsoft guns are easily available in Canada and can be bought by anyone. The larger replicas require you be 16 i think.

Great pictures- you've got a good eye for this.

I think the closest thing we have to a similar festival is the Calgary Stampede. Though it has a more western flavour, it involves a lot of what we see here- carnival booths, games, fireworks, festivities and of course good eating. We also dress up in traditional (for the area) costume.

Never been to a Matsuri in Japan
=D but they do one, quite big in my country every year *___* is so, good~!

how I wish that the festivals in this country are as fun as those in Japan! In the city where I came from, festivals usually mean some food fair with lots of food stalls, lots of stalls selling junk stuff, and usually there's a stage where people perform. sounds fun, but it's basically the same stuff each and every year so yeah.

Well In my country it exists one than another activity of this type but more in a Essence of Party Versions (Panama)

Awa-odori's always a personal favorite. I think it's the funny hats.... Yosakoi's always good for revealing-attire appreciation, though. :D

If only there were something so fun and interesting to participate in like that here. Unfortunately, there isn't. If you want anything close, you have to go to a China-town or Japan-town if there is one available.

Nah...but I try to go to ANY festival there is around. Centreville day is pretty nice in Virginia.

looks like a lot of fun...we don't get these kinda festivals here in canada >_<

LOL at the last pic...the little girl was caught scratching her ass XD hahahaha

There are some nice festivals right up the Street from me in Washington D.C. but it's nothing original. Though it's still great to experience the many cultures that have a day to showcase themselves.

Everything... looks... so... DELICIOUS! Man, I want to go to Japan and munch down on everything in festivals. I wish we had some here, but unfortunately, we don't have many Japanese festivals with food hawkers. I love all of your photos Danny, keep it up. :D

Used to go to the carnival and state fairs when I was a kid... and lived in the midwest and east coast states. Here in California the selection was a bit limited. Flea markets aplenty if you're poor, county fairs if you can find one, or a trip to Vegas if you're old enough.

I really want to go to those festivals! >.<

party people!!

I think the closest thing we have here is the Tulare Fair, or the Fresno Fair. I recently went to the Tulare Fair for a class assignment and there was a lot of rides (fairs wheels, haunted houses, etc.) and of course a lot of food to be eaten. But that's was the first time I had gone there in years and one things I noticed the most was all the police that was present. After more people showed up, they just seem to Disappear into the crowed and I hardly knew they were there.

At around this time we have something similar in my town but its not to celebrate the end of summer, but the begining of fall / harvest. My town used to be mainly agricultural when I was younger and now its practically a suburb, but we still have the harvest festival like in the past.

We dont really have festivals like this. Halloween and Christmas are the closest things to it. Since Christmas is eclipsing Halloween anyway (since Christmas items are starting for sale in early AUGUST!).. we will have one less soon. The Castella Balls look yummy. Are they Salty or sweet?

I can get takoyaki from a stall at the mall here. :) There's also plenty of festivals where I live. It seems like all year round there's one, and often, each town celebrates its own fiesta (festival). It usually happens during the summer too, but some happen before or after that season.

I'd love to attend a Japanese festival though. It'll be a change from the ones I see here. :)

unfortunately no T_T waah!
i like to try the fishing thing

Look like fun. you can feel the history and culute.

All I have in my town is a parade and Arts n' crap fest.

One things I love Japan for is its traditions and festivals. Many funny things to do, eben more yummy food and people enyoing themselves all over the place... ^^

I want a festival like that where I live. Looks like a lot of fun. There's one but it's a lot smaller then the one posted here.

Ahhh... the wonders of japan....

hope to see this when living in Japan

Wow! Those sweets look amazing! And those baby turtles are tooo cute. I'd love to go to one of these

Definitely definitely visiting someday, and hope to see a matsuri going on!:D
Octo balls look to be a bit much for me, but the chocolate banana's look very yummy!:D Hmm, gives me an idea...:P

"did you know Octopus had balls?"... hahah I never could have imagine that xD
Looks like a lot of fun! I wonder how the choco bananas tastes like :3 and I want to try Kingyo Sukui. I have only seen it in animes. Looks so hard.

Choco Bananas are great. You can buy them here too. Around Christmas though.

Unfortunately air gun is banned here in Malaysia......

What happens when the turtles get older and grow larger? Do people still keep them?

There is a big music festival in the fall which is held on a hillside opposite the local college. Its getting to be quit popular.

The closest we have to matsuri would be the county/state fairs.

hmmmmmm, maybe I should take some photos for the non-USA people, of the fair that might be fun.