Kanda (Part Two)

Happy July everyone! We've officially reached the halfway point. Home in 6 months! Above is a priest, blessing the parade participants.

This is a very scary guy. I barely used the zoom, he was so close. Some tourists got right up in his face, snapping pictures. But he freaked me out a little.

Here he is, approaching the shrine with his minions. It's kind of hard to see, but check out the shoes. They were platforms, maybe 8 inches high but about an inch wide. I don't know how he walks on those.

Another priest. He was setting up for the big blessing of the mikoshi. I think this picture is so cool. I have no idea how I managed to make it focused on him but all swirly in the background. It had something to do with the flash and the night setting. Yeah, I'm professional.

These are the items that are used for blessing the 3 big mikoshi. Other than the fruit, I don't know what they are. I didn't even use the zoom on this, that's how close we were. Pure dumb luck. I was right up against the table with the offerings.

A close up of one of the mikoshi. This was the first festival we went to with these, so we got a lot of close ups. It's pretty, isn't it?

Another mikoshi being carried up to get blessed. At the end of the night it got a little rowdier. Earlier there was more of a family vibe, but I'm pretty sure most of these guys were drunk.

Here are the 3 main mikoshi lined up for the blessing. It was a pretty long ceremony.

On a totally un-Japan note, how sad is it about Michael Jackson? He was pretty troubled, but man, he made some great music. It definitely has been getting press over here, although nothing like in the US. They call him Michael-san, which I like.