Japanamac

Hikone Fireworks 2011

Tonight was Hikone’s annual summer fireworks display. It’s always an amazing show made only better by watching it from our veranda! I took a lot of photos this year as well and hopefully I can get a gallery together soon! For now though, enjoy this one!

Update:
The gallery is up and you can see it by clicking here!

Gion Festival 2011

Dating as far back as the year 869, Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri is one of the most famous festivals in Japan and possibly the world. The festival spans the entire month of July and is crowned by a parade, the Yamaboko Junko.

This was my second time participating in the Gion Festival and it sure was a real honor to be able to do it again. This year our float was the Hashi Benkei Yama which tells the story of the legendary fight on Kyoto’s Gojo Bridge between the warrior Benkei and a young boy, Ushiwaka-maru.

I was especially lucky this year because I was chosen to carry the flag and lead the float around Kyoto’s streets! Here are a few pictures.

I Always Wanted a Pony

The new car arrived on July 1st and if you haven’t already guessed, it’s a Ford Mustang!
Azusa and I have been driving around a lot and we sure love it! The locals love it too, as it’s a pretty rare car in Japan! There are only three dealer sold Mustangs in my entire prefecture! Everybody checks it out!

I’ll take some more pictures soon, but here is one to get things started!