Real time – Sunday July 18th 0611
The sun is out again today. Still things to see in Kyoto – so that is good. Did I mention that the teenage person is always all the time forever on the computer chatting and texting with her friends? At first, I was annoyed, as in “I am spending all this money for you to be online with your friends and watching TV?” Decided that it was a good thing – that way she tells her friends that she is “so bored” and not me.
Main event yesterday – Gion Matsuri – a festival which has happened almost every year since 865. Men drag very large “floats” with large stone wheels around town. Men carry smaller ones around. But, the large ones are the main event.
We were about 4 or 5 people from the front of the mob when I took this picture. Hold camera over head and click. Then crop. All of the big floats look sort of alike and they are all about the same size. As long as you do huge crowds OK – it was grand fun.
The teenage person dressed in the chic-est girlie manner in the cotton kimono getup she had purchased. The old person wore regular limp and wrinkled old person travel togs.
Tonight – all the stuff gets repacked into the backpack and we go on to Nagoya for 2 nights. That will make 9 nights in fine hotels. After that it is back to what in Japan are called “business hotels”. I call them “Motel Six” hotels. In Tokyo, we are staying in a hotel that is owned by the company that owns Motel Six in the US. So, living large, with closets, drawers, chairs, extra pillows and a view (killer or otherwise) is coming to an end.