Ancient and modern

Japan - Day 4: Kytoto

I arrived in Kyoto on festival day. The Aoi Matsuri is one the city's big three festivals and one of the most famous in Japan. The procession consisted of 511 people. 36 horses, and 4 cows ... I counted ;)

One of the 36 horses tried to eat the costume of one of the 511 people.
One of the 4 cows s**t right in front of where I was standing. The s**t was efficiently scooped up into a plastic bag - this is Japan - and placed in a special cow poo truck ... it was pretty full by that stage of the proceedings!

I found it very challenging to get decent shots ... out of focus, wonky angle, distracting backgrounds. I chose this one because it made me laugh. You have this dude in traditional garb, taking part on this important matsuri, and there he is checking his texts under cover of his sword. Priceless!

Thanks for your kind comments on yesterday's blip. Apologies, but I am finding it almost impossible to find time to reply personally or to check journals. I will try my best to check in but the holiday stuff just gets in the way!