Last additions - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

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Last additions - Nagahama 長浜市

Entrance to the site. 15-min. walk from JR Torahime Station.Oct 06, 2018

Mascot Torapi shows the way.Oct 06, 2018

On the Sports Day national holiday in Oct., top-notch street performers perform from 10 am to 4 pm in Torahime, at the Torahime Ikigai Center parking lot (虎姫いきがいセンター). 15-min. walk from JR Torahime Station. Website: http://torass.com/Oct 06, 2018

Oct 06, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

After all the big prizes were given out, the remaining women were eligible to receive door prizes so they stood in line for that.Oct 04, 2018

This is the super lucky girl who won the free trip to Hawaii. She was from the neighboring city of Maibara and plans to take her younger sister to Hawaii.Congratulations!!! Doesn't she look like a deserving person? Hope you enjoy my home state, Aloha and bon voyage!!Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

On the stage, local sponsors and dignitaries pulled out the lucky lots one by one.Besides the trip to Hawaii as the grand prize, they gave out kimono fabric, travel certificates, free hotel rooms, and other valuable prizes sponsored by local businesses.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

Nagahama Kimono Garden Party in mid-Oct. in Shiga Prefecture.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

The kimono women all gathered here by 2 pm for the prize drawing. They faced a makeshift stage.Oct 04, 2018

Celebrities will join the stage program (talk show).Oct 04, 2018

Miss Biwako Kimono.Oct 04, 2018

More kimono ladies start to arrive.Oct 04, 2018

Local duo ~Lefa~ performing at Daitsuji Temple.Oct 04, 2018

From 1 pm, the kimono ladies started to arrive at the Daitsuji Temple as the local duo ~Lefa~ played.Oct 04, 2018

Event schedule.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

This is Daitsuji Temple, Nagahama's largest Buddhist temple (Higashi Honganji) large enough to seat up to 1,000 women. The kimono ladies will gather here by 2 pm for the grand prize drawing.Oct 04, 2018

This woman was nice because she had a traditional Japanese hairstyle (Shimada style) with her real hair which is rare. There are hairdressers in Japan who are trying to learn, preserve, and promote traditional Japanese hairstyles. It's quite complicated to create and you need really long hair. Nagahama, Shiga.Oct 04, 2018

It's almost like Coming-of-Age Day in mid-January when 20-year-olds wear kimono to the official ceremony. But these women can be older than 20. I believe most of them are from Shiga, but a good number are also from nearby prefectures like Gifu, Aichi, and Kyoto. A few were foreigners, probably local English teachers. Nagahama, Shiga.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

Nagahama has a nice photogenic area with traditional buildings where the women could stroll, hang out, and pose for photos. This path leads to Daitsuji temple where the prize drawing would be held.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

Path to Daitsuji Temple was full of kimono ladies for the Nagahama Kimono Garden Party in Shiga.Oct 04, 2018

Most of them come with friends or with their mother. Nagahama, Shiga.Oct 04, 2018

The woman might even bring a prop like a red umbrella. Nagahama, Shiga.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

Hikiyama float was also displayed near the museum.Oct 04, 2018

At the Hikiyama Museum, stage entertainment schedule (in 2017).Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

They were going to take turns and keep shooting for about 90 min. I can handle these loud bangs once or twice, but no more. So I left this event early right after seeing/hearing/photographing this first battalion fire their guns. I didn't want to risk any damage to my ear drums. I wonder how these gunners protect their hearing.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

At the Hikiyama Museum, stage entertainment.Oct 04, 2018

The event attracts a lot of photographers who like to photograph women in kimono. Many of the women are also willing to pose if you ask them. Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

The kimono women first had to register at Ekimachi Terrace where they receive a lottery number for the grand prize drawing. Photographers also had to register here and get a permission tag to photograph the women.The grand prize is a free trip for two to Hawaii.Oct 04, 2018

Women in furisode kimono who visit the city for this kimono party are eligible to win prizes in a drawing held at Daitsuji Temple in the afternoon.Furisode kimono are kimono with long sleeves going down below the knees. They are worn by single women. Married women wear kimono with shorter sleeves. And so most of the kimono women are in their teens to 30s.Oct 04, 2018

Nagahama also holds an outdoor kimono garden party in the afternoon with several hundred young women in kimono descending on this provincial city. (長浜きもの大園遊会)The kimono women first had to register at Ekimachi Terrace in front of JR Nagahama Station (West side) on the Hokuriku Line. Short ride from JR Maibara Station.Oct 04, 2018

BANG!!! The guns were extremely loud. Makes you jump.Oct 04, 2018

Taking aim and ready to fire...Oct 04, 2018

This battalion was from Tanegashima island in Kagoshima Prefecture (Kyushu). That's where guns were first introduced to Japan from Europe in 1543 and forever changed warfare in Japan.Oct 04, 2018

Oct 04, 2018

As part of the annual Nagahama Shusse Matsuri festival held on the second Sat. of Oct., a matchlock gun demonstration (長浜火縄銃大会) is held at Nagahama Castle during 13:30 a.m.–12 p.m. Nagahama Castle is near JR Nagahama Station (West side) on the Hokuriku Line. Short ride from JR Maibara Station.Oct 04, 2018

Three matchlock gun battalions to shoot their guns (blanks of course). The battalions are from Tanegashima (Kagoshima), Sakai (Osaka), and Hikone (Shiga). Japan has a number of matchlock gun battalions who are licensed to possess and fire these guns to preserve their history and perform at events and festivals.Oct 04, 2018

After you exit, there's some bonsai plum trees for sale.Jun 20, 2017

Jun 20, 2017

Potted ume bonsai trees.Jun 20, 2017

Jun 20, 2017

清幽（せいゆう）Jun 20, 2017

Jun 20, 2017

清音（せいいん）Jun 20, 2017

Jun 20, 2017

不老（ふろう）八重紅色Jun 20, 2017

Jun 20, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Jiyukan Hall is a gathering place with rooms for rent and an exhibition space. 時遊館Jun 08, 2017

Maruyama Tumulus 丸山古墳Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Maruyama Tumulus 丸山古墳Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Only a few local people enjoyed the fantastic cherry blossoms on Toragozen-yama.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Mt. Toragozen, NagahamaJun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Mt. Ibuki as seen from Mt. Toragozen-yama.Jun 08, 2017

Toragozen-yama camp grounds.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

JR Hokuriku Line train as seen from Mt. Toragozen.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Toragozen-yama camp grounds.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Top of Mt. ToragozenJun 08, 2017

Toragozen is a historic battle site during warlord Oda Nobunaga's siege of Azai Nagamasa's Odani Castle in October 1573. Before the siege, Nobunaga placed his troops on Mt. Toragozen with clear sights on Mt. Odani.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

About Yaai Shrine torii on Toragozen-yama. Dedicated to a water god since people in this area needed water which did not come easily in the old days. 矢愛神社Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Yaai ShrineJun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Yaai Shrine torii on Toragozen-yama.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Yaai Shrine torii on Toragozen-yama. 矢愛神社Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Tumulus on Toragozen-yama.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Entrance to Toragozen-yama in spring during cherry blossoms season in mid-April.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Gansan Daishi temple in the distance near Toragozen-yama, Nagahama.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Near Toragozen-yamaJun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Cherry blossoms in the middle of the river near Toragozen-yama, Nagahama.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Cherry blossoms near Toragozen-yama in Nagahama.Jun 08, 2017

Toragozen-yama cherry blossomsJun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Cherry blossoms even in the middle of the river. So picturesque.Jun 08, 2017

Weeping cherry blossoms on the way to Toragozen-yama.Jun 08, 2017

Buddha statue in a cemetery framed by cherry blossoms.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

More cherry blossoms along the river. Amazing how much cherry blossoms there are, but so few people enjoying them.Jun 08, 2017

Jun 08, 2017

Mt. Toragozen is near JR Torahime Station on the Hokuriku Line. Mt. Toragozen is an easy walk. MAPJun 08, 2017

Cherry blossoms almost right outside the train station.Jun 08, 2017

The Nagahama Hikiyama Matsuri is held annually on several days in April, but the main day is April 15. Comprehensive documentary video showing highlights of 2016.On Dec. 1, 2016 (JST), Nagahama Hikiyama Matsuri was inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as one of 33 "Yama, Hoko, and Yatai float festivals in Japan."Jun 29, 2016