while k-chan’s parents were off buying their omiyage (souvenirs) my parents and i leisurely strolled around the little township of kusatsu.
at one end of the town was a flight of stairs leading up to a small temple called kosenji (光泉寺).
with time on our hands we clambered up the stairs and much to our surprise we were greeted to the colorful celebrations of a local festival; the kosenji hanamatsuri or kosenji flower festival (光泉寺花祭り).
the kids from the local kindergarten were all dressed up in their celebratory costumes as proud parents and grandparents went snap-happy with the cameras.
this festival is a celebration for buddah's birthday where the local kids pull a huge elephant (I think it's made out of papier-mâché) around the town's centre.
although it was a very small affair, it was nice to see kids being kids and just having fun.
note: kosenji hanamatsuri is held yearly on may 7th and 8th.
15 comments:
i seriously love that there seems to be little festivals going on and a flower one no less.
the costumes are so fun too. i love the shot of the little water turtles and the truck thats all dolled up with paper flowers.
Ha maybe i will make up my own flower festival and deck my car out with paper flowers.Surely everyone will be convinced i have offically lost my mind.
the food looks delicious too especially those chocolate sprinkled bananas.
Are you going to deck the boy out too for festivals? Kou-chan will look so cute!
hehe, i think shellie should make her own flower festival!
nice post. the world need festivals. dressing up and celebrating! the yakitori looks delicious. and is that okonomiyaki? that's one of my favorite dishes! mmm.
oh and thanks for your comment on my blog where you offer a hug (and a drink) that made my day. really.
* shellie
did you notice that one of those turtles are "swimming" upside-down!?
you so could create an annual succulent festival! sure people would think you are mad but that's not the point; it's all about having fun!
and yup, we've dressed kou-chan in his "jimbei" (a summer outfit for boys) a few times so far this year.
his kindy is having a summer festival next month so I will try to take some photos.
* luuworld
I agree, Shellie would probably put on quite a good festival, and im sure there would be free-flowing drinks all round for the adults too.
yup, it's okonomiyaki. such a delish snack. come to think of it I haven't had it for a while now, maybe a tad too heavy for summer.
and seriously, if I was near you I would so take you out for a beer. the man-hug might come after a few drinks...
I went to an Obon festival in LA for the first time and it was a great experience and I chance for me to take photos of pretty ladies in yukadas...wish I could go to the one you went to, looks quite fun (turtle catching!) Is the last photo banana's dipped in chocolate?
* lavender playground
wow, you have obon festivals in la too?
I love it how japan has different festivals for each season.
the obon one is a favorite because it usually includes beer, delish food and fireworks!
Beautiful. Just kids being kids yet so reverent too, given the significance of the day. Brings more joy into this world, which is exactly what we need. :)
those little turtles!!!!
i like that man hug bit. would i have to buy you many beers before that happened, or are you easy?! lol!
* Kenny
often surrounded by kid(s) it makes me realize how trapped us adults are with rules.
(although some adults do) we can't scream when we want, nag and nag until we get what we want, and the worst part is we often have to hide our true feeling.
watching kids be kids is great (as long as you're not the one supervising...)
* Mary
as in cute or "hurry up boy, save them!"
* luuworld
I'm pretty easy when it comes to a hug but you might need to get me pissed if you want anything more.
will I "rise" to attention, that's another story!
I'm useless for supervising kids; I'm more likely to incite them to some mischief than to prevent it! :P
And ooh, if luuworld's gonna try and get you to "rise" to attention, can I watch? LOL
lol. funny how the comments always start off really serious then sometimes end up going all raunchy!
@Luuworld: Ah, but those are the best sorta comments, no? :P
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