Day 114: Gion Matsuri

Last Saturday (the one after the Saturday mentioned in the last post, it's all very confusing I know), I went to the Gion Festival, one of the most famous festivals in Kyoto. I think the festival runs for most of the month of July, but the day I went was its peak day as it was holding its parade that day. Being peak day, I think it's safe to assume that that day would also be the most crowded. It also peaked 95 degrees that day and I was wearing a yukata. I should've just wore a sign, "Death, take me now."

Not long after we arrived, we made the mistake of trying to follow the parade. What followed was the craziest experience I never want to experience again. We ended up in a gargantuan crowd of people trying to bottleneck through this small street corner. I was smushed on all sides. It was like that scene in Star Wars when Luke & Co. were stuck in that garbage compactor and were about to be flattened into pancakes. Except, instead of shushing through unidentifiable waste fluid (which had to had that garbage monster's #1's and #2's swirling around in there), I was shushing around in the sweat of 40+ people. I haven't decided which one's worst yet. And my hair, which I had taken the time to curl in the morning, was reduced into swiggles. Boo.

 

A crapload of people.

 

 

This was placed in front of a cemetery. No joke.

 

Look Mommy, I took a nice picture for you.

...'Cos otherwise, I would never do this. 

 

While we were walking around, we happened upon this place and went inside (I needed air conditioning). And then I got free admission because I was wearing a yukata. Nyahaha,

And there, I bought this! :

 

Whee!~ Actually, the little guy on the left I bought separately at a Jump! Store at USJ, But the other two were the last ones in the vending machine inside the museum, so I decided to buy both. However, I thought the plastic container had Ichigo which was why I decided to buy both, but I was extremely disappointed when I opened it. Blargh, I really want Ichigo. 

Yeah, I'm a nerd, what's your point?

Since I touched on it earlier, I thought I'd take a quick moment to talk about the difference between a yukata and a kimono. People tend to mix the two and just assume that a yukata is also a kimono, but there's actually a significant difference between the two. 

 

A yukata. 

The yukata is the casual summer equivalent of the kimono. It only has one layer and is typically made of a lightweight cotton. You usually see people wearing them during festivals, firework displays, or any other kind of summer events. 

  

A kimono.

A kimono usually consists of multiple layers and is significantly heavier (and more expensive) and fancier than the yukata. I'm not sure what they're usually made of, but I wanna say silk. You rarely ever see young women wear kimonos during the year. I believe the only time a young person would be seen wearing a kimono is when they've turned 20 and it's January, which is when the Coming of Age ceremony is held. I think I've only seen one or two young people wear kimonos, and everyone else are usually in their 40s or 50s.