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Dunk shot by Ryan Rourke.60 views
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Brayden60 views
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Shichiri-no-watashi made Kuwana properous and busy with travelers. This is a Shichiri-no-watashi marker.60 views
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Bobby Nash60 views
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Brayden Billbe dunks one.60 views
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Shiga LakeStars cheerleaders change their uniform and strut their stuff.60 views
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The top character is Kira, depicted as the villain in Chushingura. Notice that it's supported only by his tiptoes. (Even without the bamboo pole support, it stands up that way.)60 views
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The floats also have musicians who play festival music called shagiri (しゃぎり). They use the flute, taiko drum, and bell.60 views
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Rest break for Kaizu mikoshi.60 views
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The two local boys (age 14 and 15) arrive for the sushi-cutting ceremony.60 views
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Finally the main dish.60 views
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Sake poured for the shrine priest.60 views
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The shrne priest refuses another round of sake.60 views
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The Sushikiri ceremony was over after about an hour. Then was the Naginata procession.60 views
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Naginata boys60 views
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While ringing a bell, he provided the dance beat for the flower hat girls.60 views
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Naginata Festival Preservation Committee members.60 views
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Old farming tools60 views
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Temple garden before the cherries reached full bloom.60 views
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Next door to the Shimoda-yaki hall is this hall for trying traditional crafts. たくみの家60 views
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Cherry blossoms abound on both riverbanks.60 views
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Fuji View Stand. The upper levels are reserved seating which cost extra. Most people sat on the free, lower level.60 views
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Kanji characters read "Koiwa Shobu-en."60 views
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Showa-dori shopping street near Koiwa Station.60 views
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Old Tokaido Road.60 views
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Here and there along the way, you'll see storehouses for the hikiyama floats. During the Minakuchi Hikiyama Matsuri festival on April 19-20, they are taken out to be decorated before being paraded to Minakuchi Shrine.60 views
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The first Zeze Castle lord was Toda Kazuaki who moved from Otsu Castle. The Zeze-han domain was thereby established. The castle was abolished in 1870. 戸田 一西.60 views
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The Seta are is also accessible by bus.60 views
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Hydrangea at Hakusan Shrine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo60 views
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Food stalls60 views
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Mitaka Shoko-ren had a good dance routine.60 views
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Rhythm-ren りずむ連60 views
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Mitaka-ren みたか連60 views
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Niiza Kobushi-ren perform at Fureai Road which was the worst place to take pictures. They had a canopy (see left) and it obstructs the best view of the dancers. The crowd was sparse here.60 views
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Musashi-Aoi-ren 60 views
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Miyako-ren 美奴連（みやこ連）60 views
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Ageo Koiki-ren, from the city of Ageo in Saitama Prefecture. あげお小粋連60 views
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Hatanaka-kikko-ren 畑中亀甲連60 views
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Walk further and you will reach Honmaru central keep. This Honmaru bridge was accurately reconstructed in 2006.60 views
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Stairs to the second floor.60 views
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This taiko dance is unique for having these yakko men painted. It takes about 30-45 min. to paint a belly.60 views
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Yakko posing 奴60 views
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The yakko-furi men chanted, "Ei! Ei!"60 views
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You can see yakko-furi men in samurai processions such as daimyo gyoretsu festivals reenacting the sankin kotai procession.60 views
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Men dressed as mountain ascetic priests (yamabushi).60 views
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The drummers formed a few different formations. They lined up in front of the shrine and let the fukube-furi children to march through to the shrine.60 views
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One day in 2009, I finally investigated this mountain in Maibara. It's about 2 km from JR Sakata Station on the Hokuriku Line toward Nagahama. You can rent a bicycle at Sakata Station.60 views
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The road around the mountain is decorated with lanterns on the occasion of Hinade Shrine's sumo festival on Sept. 21, 2009.60 views
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Large torii in the middle of an intersection. It belongs to Hinade Shrine which is on Mt. Hinade.60 views
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Now walking toward Naganoya.60 views
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Joho trying to get away.60 views
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Congratulatory flowers for the Lakestars' first home game from the Kunimatsu Yoshitsugu, former Shiga governor and current chairman of Shiga's sports federation.60 views
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Introduction of Takamatsu Five Arrows players.60 views
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Shiga Lakestars pose with their escorts. They held a few children's basketball games before the main vent.60 views
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Mike Hall #2360 views
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Chris60 views
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Chris Schlatter #460 views
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Castle entrance.60 views
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Gary passing to Bobby.60 views
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Mike Hall60 views
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Back view of the former Hachiman YMCA, the first building designed by William Merrell Vories in 1907. Inside is quite modern, except for one room. MAP60 views
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Luke Zellar on a free throw and Coach Pierce looks on.60 views
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Gate to Bannaji temple. It is actually an arched bridge.60 views
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They all entered Bannaji temple by crossing the narrow arched bridge.60 views
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I stayed at the finish line the whole day, just to see what they do here. Here's the 2010 Tokyo Marathon winner FUJIWARA Masakazu (#102) heading for the finish line.60 views
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A normal-looking female runner.60 views
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Gaijin with a model of Tokyo Tower on his cap.60 views
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Can you believe this guy? Playing a guitar and singing while running.60 views
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thon60 views
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During the show, they also held various stage programs such as lectures and panel discussions. 60 views
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I'm not an orchid expert so I can't tell you what their names are.60 views
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Atami Ginza is a street of shops.60 views
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Hatsushima island60 views
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Hikone Bunka Plaza's Grand Hall. Still photography was permitted, but no videos and tripods. The event was a stage show of all the mascot characters appearing on stage. They held three shows on this day. ひこね市文化プラザ グランドホ60 views
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Shiga Lakestars60 views
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Introduction of Tokyo Apache players as they make a grand entrance on stage as the curtain lifted.60 views
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Tokyo Apache players' traditional huddle60 views
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Joho trying to block.60 views
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Joho goes for 3 points.60 views
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Ray Schafer60 views
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Mikey Marshall60 views
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Sarugaku entertainers from the Omi Sarugaku Taga-za troupe. 猿楽60 views
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These trees stood out.60 views
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Looking toward Kunitachi Station.60 views
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The base has three legs shaped like a triangle. One side of this triangle is about 70 meters wide.60 views
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Roof edges of Daigokuden Hall.60 views
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These platforms are the site of old buildings.60 views
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These pillar-like bushes indicate the location of pillars of buildings which existed in the Heijo Palace.60 views
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Sento-kun's cousins.60 views
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A unique thing about this festival is that the mikoshi rider pulls out and raises the mikoshi's top ornament (usually a phoenix). 鵜の息抜き60 views
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The drummer really has to move quickly with the rest of the boys as they move unpredictably.60 views
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The big Omiya mikoshi.60 views
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The children's mikoshi are parked along this path in front of the shrine.60 views
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Shrine maidens.60 views
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Yasu River.60 views
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Behind the shrine is Yasu River which apparently often flooded the area in the old days. 野洲川60 views
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Nearer to the shrine, the horse track is lined with spectator seating. Apparently, people donated money for a seat to view the procession and galloping horses.60 views
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They made a U-turn at the Otabisho near the lake shore.60 views
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Like the night before, local volunteer guides at Omi-Takashima Station gave directions and maps of the procession route. Very helpful even though there weren't too many tourists.60 views
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Afterward, they played traditional games.60 views
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My YouTube video of Otsuka Awa Odori featuring local Otsuka (Toshima Ward) dance troupes.60 views
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Boys' shower room with blue curtains.60 views
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These two cruise boats (Lansing and Interlaken) were chartered for the festival.60 views
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Heading for the boat.60 views
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Boat with the main portable shrine pass under Seta-no-Karahashi Bridge.60 views
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The kabuki is performed by boys from the 1st grade to 6th grade. The play is about an hour long. They perform 3 times on the first day and 4 times on the second and third days of the festival.60 views
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A pair of foxes.60 views
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Group photo of Sho-ouzan float in Oct. 2008. 松翁山60 views
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Pulling a hikiyama at night in Maibara.60 views
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Another entrance to Rakujuen where I exited.60 views
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Hie Shrine priests.60 views
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View from Hakuunbashi Bridge. 白雲橋60 views
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Near the Kawara Roof Tile Museum is this dock where you board the moat boat. Fare is 1,000 yen for adults.60 views
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At 8 pm, there's supposed to be fireworks, but due to the East Japan earthquake/tsunami, the fireworks were cancelled this year in 2011.60 views
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Some time after 8 pm, they finally lit the first torch.60 views
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Giant torch.60 views
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This is the shop depicted in Hiroshige's print. Called Ibuki-do. It is the last surviving maker of moxa cautery in Kashiwabara. 伊吹堂亀屋佐京商店60 views
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Stage entertainment at Yaito Matsuri at night.60 views
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Main venue of Yaito Matsuri next to Ibuki-do, the moxa shop.60 views
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Statue of Yamato Takeru at Samegai's water spring. He defeated the boar, but not before the boar showered him with poisonous rain. He went to Isame no Shimizu whose waters healed him. Then he went on to Ise, but died soon afterward. 日本武尊の60 views
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Kanpai! (Cheers)60 views
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Leaving the beach in front of Hotel Laforet.60 views
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That's Hotel Laforet in the background, where the rowers stayed every night during the rowing tour and commuted to/from the rowing start/end points.60 views
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Leaving Satsuma Beach.60 views
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Food Court.60 views
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The procession includes the Sacred Horse. 神馬60 views
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The procession proceeds across town on a 9 km circular route bringing them back to Aburahi Shrine in the late afternoon. They head for the Otabisho rest place.60 views
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The south entrance has community room serving as an exhibiiton space. It also displays medicines made by Koka medicine makers. Many ninja families in Koka were medicine makers.60 views
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The old JR Koka Station (south side), photographed in 2004. It was a small station.60 views
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The Koka area was rich in medicinal herbs. This mural depicts women picking the herbs in Koka in the old days.60 views
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Room for changing exhibitions.60 views
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Inside the Public Library in Kafuka Yume no Mori park.60 views
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Splendid work of Azai sisters made of small rolls of paper.60 views
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On May 5, on the Sekku Matsuri, they opened the inner part of the shrine and so I went and got a closeup look at the Honden Hall.60 views
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Honden Hall offerings.60 views
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Gate of Kannonji temple in Maibara. Kannonji temple is noted as the place where Toyotomi Hideyoshi rested during falconry session when he met Ishida Mitsunari who was studying at the temple.60 views
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Tokaido Road: Tsuchiyama (Koka)60 views
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