Fun in Summer

It's summer season in Japan, meaning mostly one thing - it's hot and freaking humid! I had heard about the humid climate before, but I didn't really believe it would be that bad before I had experienced it myself. By now I've almost gotten used to starting to sweat after only a few steps outside, and I'm not exaggerating..

On the upside, there are many fun traditions and activities during the Japanese summer that easily make up for the climate. One funny custom that I recently learned about is using bamboo slides along which cold noodles are flowing, one has to catch the noodles with chopsticks and dip them in some kind of sauce before eating.

Another nice thing are the plentiful nice (though a little crowded) beaches that are easily accesible from anywhere, since most of the cities are located near the sea. For instance, we had our summer retreat with the church on a beautiful location near the beach:

Last but not least, there are many cool festivals and fireworks taking place during summer season! Today I want to share pictures of the "Gion Matsuri", one of the 3 most famous summer festivals throughout Japan. Gion Matsuri's history dates back to the 9th century. It is celebrated in Kyoto throughout the month of July, it's most spectacular event being the parade of 32 floats, as can be seen below. One interesting fact is that the bigger floats have no mechanism for making a turn, that is, they can only go straight. That's why, in order to make them turn, they lay out wet bamboo on the street, move the floats on top of the bamboo, and then force them to turn by using lots of manpower.