Mitarashi Festival

A day after visiting Gion matsuri, I received a phone call from Zuru-chan asking me to go to 'leg washing festival' (Mitarashi festival). For a minute I was wandering, what in the world is 'leg washing festival'? Anyway, I gave it a go. It was held in Shimogamo Jinja, Kyoto. According to the shrine's website, it's a ritual to have a good health. I found this festival very unique and enjoyed every bit of it even though my pants were wet!!

Gion Matsuri

I've posted about Gion matsuri before here. This year, it is my second visit. Compared to last year, there was lil sunshine this year.. therefore my pic also looks better, hehe. At the corner to enter 'Oike dori' (Oike street), the 'boko' (float) took longer time to turn compared to last year, probably the people pulling the boko are getting old. However, this came in handy to our advantage as more photo shots could be taken. At one moment, there was a guy dangling the child from the inside of the boko. Is this part of the tradition? I missed this last year!

On Japanese TV, there's a special program (I think every Saturday evening) that showcase the life of a baby animal. This time around it was a baby 'anteater' and its mum. Previously they have shown about a cub, baby otter etc. Since I tune in very seldom, I think I missed most of it. Anyway, the baby anteater is kawaiii!

Yamashita Park, Yokohama

I didn't know the idiom 'to kill two birds with one stone' will actually be useful for birds. In this pic, the cable/rope that is used to tie this giant ship, actually serves as 'networking' ground for a group of birds, hehe. By the way, this is a another scene at Yamashita park

Yamashita Park, Yokohama

I always wanted to go to Yokohama and finally it became a reality. This picture was taken in Yamashita Park. It was a hot day but with a cold breeze flowing, I even managed to take a rest here lying on the bench