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Gion Matsuri

A first-time visit to Kyoto’s Gion Festival becomes a night to remember

There’s more to these giant Yamahoko floats than first meets the eye. 

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Kyoto’s famous Gion Festival celebrates its 1150th anniversary with…crowdfunding?

You have the chance to contribute to this festival’s 1,150th anniversary.

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We take a close-up look at some Japanese street food found at summer festivals【Photos】

 From fried noodles to “octopus balls”, what you’ll find at a festival food stall is probably nothing like you imagined Japanese food to be.

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Despite raging typhoon, Gion Matsuri goes on as it has for over 1,000 years【Video】

The Gion Festival, or Gion Matsuri, has been celebrated consistently for over a thousand years and is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. The highlight is the Yamahoko Parade which occurs twice, on July 17 and July 24, and our competition winner’s wish was to see it happen with her own eyes here in Japan. This year, with a incoming typhoon, there were rumors swirling about the festival being cancelled, but with hardly any interruptions in its long history, this parade wasn’t about to be stopped by mere weather!
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