Miya Matsuri Summer Festival, 2012

Kindergarten pupils dance with their nursery teacher.

Men carry a portable-shine or mikoshi wildly.

School girls wear yukata or summer cotton kimono talking at the corner of a street.

Miya Matsuri Summer Festival in 2011

Miyamatsuri Summer Festival 2011 fell on a rainy day again this year.

Tens of thousands of people came to Odori Avenue in front of Futarasan shrine to watch the bustle of festival one week ago. I also went out to watch it with cans of beer and cameras.
It was a great fun to me.

Miya Matsuri Summer Festival in Utsunomiya

Miya Matsuri Summer Festival is held in the center of Utsunomiya city in early August every year.

Many people, young, old, men, women wearing Yukata come to the center area of the city to watch parades of decorated floats, eat and drink street foods.

My elder daughter Emi is too busy for studying to go to the festival. Younger daughter Rina went there wearing Yukata with her friends.

I didn’t have a chance to take pictures of Rina in Yukata but took some pictures of decorated floats and young guys carrying a Mikoshi or portable shrine.

Track and Field Race and Summer Festival

My younger daughter Rina took part in the Utsunomiya Citizens’ Track and Field Race today. She won both 200m and 800m races. Congratulations Rina!

Rina holds four certificates. She got lower two certificates in the 1500m race and the 800m race in May. Upper two certificates were, 200m and 8000m, given to her today.
She is a member of track and field club of her junior high school. She usually attends a junior-high 800m race or a 1500m race , or both.
She said that today’s race was for amateur athletes, so some of stronger runners would not attend today’s race.
That ment there would be an ample chance for her to win even the 200m race.
It was the first time for Rina to compete the 200m race, but she won the race.

She had finished the races in the morning and came back home to go to Miya Matsuri.
Miya Matsuri is a summer festival in Utsunomiya city.
Many people wear Yukata or summer version kimono to enjoy the festival.

She changed her clothes from her running uniform to Yukata, but still kept wearing her running shoes on, and ran to the Tobu department store to meet her athletic club friends.

Summer Festival: Miya matsuri

We had Miyamatsuri summer festival in Utsunomiya today and yesterday. I went to the festival with Rina. She holds an apple candy. Apple candies are sold especially in summer festival. To make a candy, they use a whole apple putting candy source on it.
It’s really yummy.

Miya Matsuri Summer Festival in Utsunomiya

The Japan Meteorological Agency said that the rainy season in the Kanto region ended on last Wednesday. My long waited summer has finally come!
We have exciting summer festivals everywhere in Japan. The summer festival called Miya Matsuri was held today and yesterday in Utsunomiya. The first Saturday and Sunday in August are the days for the festival.
I haven’t gone to the festival for nine or ten years, because I always went back to my hometown, Shimane during the festival. This year, daughters are excited to be able to go to the festival.

Do you know what’s the most fun for young girls in summer festival? Most of young girls love to wear traditional clothes, “Yukata.” They are kind of summer version of Kimono. My two daughters wearing Yukata, went to the festival with their own friends separately. They bought sweets, frozen pineapple, candy and goldfish. After that, they took Purikura pictures. I asked them what they did and what they bought. Believe or not, things they bought and did were amazingly the same.

Before going to the festival, Emi prays to the small shrine next to our condo.




Rina has a dark suntan, since she attended an athletic competition today till four o’clock.
A hectic day, wasn’t it?

Upper Purikura pictures: Emi and her friends. Those of Rina and her friends follows.