2008 was a busy year for this wayward wanderer though I didn’t travel much abroad due to the high fuel surcharge. I did however travel a fair bit around Japan going to a number of festivals. This is a photo montage of my experiences.
Mt. Kurama in northern Kyoto comes alive with the fires of hundreds of torches some of them over 15 feet long requiring 4-5 men to carry them. It’s a very old tradition going back to the late 8th Century. The torches are used to guide spirits through the human world to their own world so they don’t stray and cause mischief. It’s a great festival with lots of energy.
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/rain-fails-to-dampen-japanese-fire-festival-spirit/
This from the first time I went in 2005:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/japanese-fire-festival-on-kyotos-mt-kurama/
