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July 15, 2003 |
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Chesterton High School poses for a group photo in the lobby of the Rihga Royal Hotel.
The Juanita group is joined by a stuffed, yellow Pikachu, a character from the Pokemon cartoon.
The Marina group tried to look tough for their group photo... Are you fooled?
North Penn looks like they are ready for a day on the town!
Saint Margaret's poses in front of the Gion Matsuri display in the hotel's lobby.
Tampa Bay also went for the tough look, but I bet they are excited to see Kyoto!
Valparaiso arrived in Kyoto happy and ready for more travel!
Issaquah High School arrives exhausted from their traid ride to Kyoto from Sendai.
The NP:J headquarters in Kyoto: The Rihga Royal Hotel! |
Okoshiyasu! On Tuesday, July 15, participants of NP:J's final Study Tour of 2003 made their way back to Kyoto for three days of sightseeing before their return trip to the United States. It's probably safe to say that everyone embarked on the journey to Kyoto with a little sadness. Although excited to see more of Japan, it was difficult to say goodbye to the generous host families and host schools and many tears were shed. "If only I could have stayed a little longer..." Groups arrived in Kyoto throughout the day on Tuesday -- those groups that arrived early had almost a full day of sightseeing in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital. Kyoto is a wealth of Japanese history, culture, and tradition, and as such attracts over 40 million tourists each year! Participants in this Study Tour are particularly lucky to be arriving at the height of Kyoto's most famous festival and a popular tourist attraction: the Gion Matsuri. Gion Matsuri was first held as a purification ritual in 869 after Kyoto had been hit by a series of plagues. About a century later, the festival became an annual event held to ward off disease. Gion Matsuri runs the entire month of July, but the week of the 13th through 19th is the highpoint. From July 14 through 16, many streets in downtown Kyoto are closed to traffic in the evenings for Yoi-Yama, the parade floats are displayed, and many of the older houses show-off painted folding screens. The streets are packed with people and lined with stalls selling festival foods like yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick), takoyaki (octopus balls), grilled corn, cotton candy, and pineapple slices on sticks. Although every school group follows a slightly different itinerary while they are in the Kansai region, there are a few sites that almost every group will visit. The Chesterton High School group from Indiana arrived before noon and set off almost immediately to visit Kinkakuji (the Golden Pavilion) and Ryoanji (famous for its zen rock garden) in Kyoto's northern region -- many other groups will also visit these two famous Buddhist temples. Throughout the next several days, groups will also visit the cities of Osaka and Nara (the site of Japan's first capital city and now home to one of Japan's Daibutsu, or Big Buddha, and several hundred deer). Now that everybody has arrived safely in Kyoto, NP:J participants will once again have nightly access to TLI e-mail -- and we are making sure that everyone knows they have a lot of e-mail waiting for them. Everyone is enjoying their adventure so much that sometimes they just don't have enough energy left at night to respond... We'll be in touch again on July 18th with more news from Kyoto! Ja, mata!
The three nights before Gion Matsuri, downtown Kyoto streets are closed to traffic and lined with stalls. In the center of this photo, you can see one of the mikoshi (float) that will be paraded around on the 17th. The awning on the right hand-side belongs to a takoyaki (octopus ball) stand.
Shijo Doori, one of the main streets in downtown Kyoto has been closed off to traffic, but because of the crowds, the foot traffic must still follow the rules of the road -- people travelling west are on one side of the street, the people travelling east on the other. You can see some of the women wearing yukata (traditional summer kimono).
Young men dressed in yukata sit inside one of the mikoshi playing traditional music. Because of the tempermental weather, the tapestry on the side of the float has been covered in protective plastic.
There are over 30 mikoshi in the festival. On the three evenings before the festival, the mikoshi are parked throughout the downtown area and hung with lanterns.
Kanako and Takayabu-san wait for the groups to arrive. Takayabu-san is the NP:J tour advisor in Kyoto. She makes sure that everyone knows how to get where they are going and provides detailed maps for each group's itinerary. |
