Gion Matsuri for the last time

I will begin this post with an apology for not updating this blog in ages. Pesky little details took over my life for a while, plus the fact that I did not have much to update about in the recent months. Having not been anywhere for the past two years or done anything remotely out of the ordinary, I find that I have little to post about. But having neglected it for weeks, I decided it is time to breath new life into this dying blog and renew my efforts.



So first up is a post about my last Gion Matsuri. Sadly enough, despite wanting to go and enjoy the festival during the peak days, I could only manage to find time to enjoy the night festival (Yoiyoiyoiyama or Yoiyoiyama or Yoiyama) on Tuesday with my friends. But I had fun nonetheless and we reminisce about festival in the past years and how we celebrated them.



It was a shock to realise that I have seen this festival for 6 times in the years I have been here. And equally shocking was the fact that this is my last Gion Matsuri and soon, all this, will be a distant memory. Although the crowd, the heat and humidity can be so stifling at times (not to mention the rain!), I know that I will miss this colourful festival and sad that I will only have my pictures to remind me in years to come.



Gion Matsuri has been a constant thing in my life for the past five years here and next year I would wake up in July, knowing that I would not be hearing the distinctive music playing on the streets of Shijo/Sanjo, that I will not be seeing girls walking around in colourful yukatas, and that I will not be seeing the beautifully lit lanterns adorning the floats. But hopefully I would be waking up to something different, exploring a new festival or falling in love with an old one again and enjoying myself tremendously.



One thing I really do regret though was not being able to capture all the floats in a straight procession along the streets!



Oh well, hopefully I would be able to make a trip back here someday and enjoy all the things I would miss.....



For more pictures, please visit my Flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/celialee/sets/608419/