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Gion Festival (Kyoto). Click to enlarge image.

"Yoi, yoi, yoi to sei!" The Gion Festival with its distinctive music is one of the biggest and most famous festivals in Japan. It originates from an epidemic in the year 869 when the chief priest of the Yasaka shrine led a procession of citizens throught the city trying to placate the gods and praying for an end to the plaque - when the epidemic ran its course, people rejoiced and the festival has been popular ever since.

The festival begins July 2nd each year and lasts until July 31st. On this day the portable shrines known as Mikoshi (see picture at right) are hauled from their storage sheds and blessed. The most important Mikoshi is carried down to the Kamogawa river on July 10th and is purefied in a ceremony conducted by the chief priest. The Mikoshi is then carried back to Yasaka Shrine on the shoulders of the same young men who brought it to the river. Also on July 10th, three Mikoshi are carried from the shrine to City Hall and the festival starts. Carrying lanterns on very long poles and wearing traditional dress, the participants escort the Mikoshi in a parade and dance groups perform in front of the City Hall. The main part of the festival is from July 15th to 17th.

For the first two days the festival floats are lined up in Shijo-dori west of the river - you can get up close and have a good look, for a small fee you can even climb inside them. There are 32 floats in the parade decorated beautifully with tapestries and gold. The tapestries are hundreds of years old and many were imported over the silk road or during the "Christian century" before the Edo period from places as far away as India, Flanders and Turkey.

There is music and fun every night, many people attending the Gion festival wear yukata and geta - traditional Japanese summer wear. The girls look fantastic in their colorful yukata, and watching the geiko and maiko dances in their beautiful kimono is also a feast for the senses. On the morning of the 17th the great parade begins and many carts, mikoshi and other floats parade along Kawaramachi-dori and Oike-dori streets. If you have the money, you can reserve seats in stands set up along Oike-dori (need to be quick though). All in all it is a colorful and exciting festival.

As Kyoto is close to Okazaki, you can either attend the festival either by making a day trip or overnight stay(s). Depending on your budget, Kyoto is only 1 hour 15 minutes from Okazaki at a cost of 5670 yen (up to 2 hours 30 minutes if you take the 3260 yen cheapest route). Your classes finish on Friday afternoons no later than 1.30pm leaving you plenty of time to travel. If you need overnight accommodation close to the 15th-17th of July it is wise to book very early. If you want to see the actual parade on the 17th, you can do so via the Discovery Program that covers the festival itself (as well as the Nachi Fire Festival earlier in the week).

If you prefer just to visit on a weekend, any of the AIJP, AJSP, Acceleration, SILAC or Internship courses will be suitable. If you wish to see all of the festival, then it is possible to participate in the July Discovery tour either during or after a course of studies, choosing from either SILAC, Acceleration Format 2 (Options A, B, or C) or private lessons. For more information please read the Discovery Program files.

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If any of the information in this file is unclear, or if you need more detailed information, please click here and read the study/applications section of the FAQ before contacting us. Best regards, Declan Murphy.

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