Most viewed - Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri Festival 2009 山形花笠まつり |
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Then there was this group of sexy Yamagata hanagasa dancers. Holy smoke, look at that cleavage, something you never see with a yukata.740 views
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Miniskirted yukata690 views
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Yamagata maiko399 views
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During early Aug., JR Yamagata Station has a Hanagasa Matsuri billboard above the turnstile as you get out.360 views
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Yamagata maiko327 views
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Held since 1963, the Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri festival is held annually during Aug. 5-7. It is an evening parade of dancers using a hanagasa (flower hat) held during the three evenings from 6 pm to 9:30 pm.316 views
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Actress Eri Watanabe in Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri on Aug. 7, 2009.290 views
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This is actress Eri Watanabe (b. 1955) who is from Yamagata. She gave a memorable performance in the 1996 movie, "Shall We Dance?"287 views
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Miss Hanagasa 2009.283 views
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Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri278 views
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Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri208 views
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Photogenic Yamagata hanagasa dancer.208 views
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Lovely Yamagata hanagasa dancer.187 views
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Cop cars block the parade road.174 views
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"See you next year." The parade ends at around 9:30 pm at the end of the parade route. But it ends earlier if you are at the midway point instead. There was enough time for me to catch the last train back to Sendai at 9:46 pm.161 views
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Amateur hanagasa dancers.160 views
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Yamagata Station's exit has hanagasa (flower hat) decorations.156 views
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You can buy your own hanagasa and join in the festival.123 views
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It is a folk dance characterized by the hanagasa, or flower hat, which is held with both hands and swung left and right, above the head, etc. The festival originated as a rice-planting prayer for a good harvest.119 views
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When I arrived during lunch time on Aug. 7, 2009, a group of hanagasa dancers held a PR demonstration right inside Yamagata Station as you see here.119 views
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They dance to the beat of taiko drums and the prerecorded folk tune of Hanagasa Ondo singing, "Yassho, makasho!" 115 views
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Miss Hanagasa 2009.114 views
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It's possible to stopover in Sendai and take a day trip to Yamagata to see this festival. However, if you want to stopover in Yamagata during the Hanagasa Festival, make reservations early especially for budget hotels. 114 views
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Yamagata Station also has a Hanagasa info counter set up during the festival. You can pick up a map of the parade route.113 views
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The artificial red flowers on the hats symbolize the safflower, the city flower.111 views
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Paper lanterns written with "Yama-gata-hana-gasa-ma-tsu-ri."111 views
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The final group was led by the four Miss Hanagasa. Anybody could dance in this final group.109 views
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A total of about 120 groups (10,000 people) dance over the three evenings. If you want to see a certain group, you'll have to check the parade schedule. Also, a different celebrity guest also dances each evening.107 views
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By 5:30 pm, a good crowd of people lined the parade street stretching for 1.2 km. The parade route is a 10-15-min. walk from Yamagata Station. It was lot more crowded than the first time I saw this festival years ago.106 views
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Miss Hanagasa105 views
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The parade starts at 6 pm, and it took about 10 min. to reach where I was.105 views
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Sometimes we see floats.102 views
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Many dance groups were sponsored by large companies, and the company name or logo was prominently displayed on the clothing. It really is a long advertising parade.100 views
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Miss Hanagasa 2009. There are four of them. 99 views
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It was drizzling off and on, so the road was wet. The shiny road made the shot look more dramatic together with the backlight.98 views
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Cheerleaders too95 views
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The first few groups of dancers were the best.94 views
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School kids were also in the parade.94 views
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Female taiko drummers on trucks.94 views
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This is one of the main and best dance groups. They all dance to a song called "Hanagasa Ondo." A recording of the song is repeated continuously through the loudpseakers. 花笠音頭93 views
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I don't mind advertising, but I was upset to see a 100-meter long dance group advertising a phone company. They thus took a long time to pass by. (No photos of them here.)92 views
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An average of 300,000 tourists watch the parade per evening. 91 views
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It was a good size crowd despite the drizzling rain, but it wasn't not horrendously crowded. It was pretty easy to get around and find a new spot to watch the parade.91 views
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This is at the end of the parade route which had a nice illuminated gate overhead.87 views
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Military-style male dancers.87 views
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My video of Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri in Aug. 2009.31 views
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