Japan! April 14th Part 4 - Takayama Festival at Night

On the evening of our arrival in Takayama, my mom and I went to the Takayama Festival with my Aunt Kanchan and Uncle Koichi. Although it was drizzling earlier in the day, we were fortunate that the skies cleared up or the parade may have been cancelled to protect these treasured floats. Around a dozen lighted yatai were pulled through Takayama's old town area, with many people lining the streets.  You can read more about the background of the Takayama Festival here. I had both my iPhone camera and Canon on hand and started dozens of people back from the floats but by the end I was in the third row and took many, many pictures. I forgot about my jetlag and was probably on my feet for at least a couple of hours. It was exciting being surrounded by thousands of others who were witnessing this very special festival that is held twice a year. On our way home Uncle Koichi took a photo of me in front of one of the floats.