KYOTO celebration : Gion Matsuri

Kyoto Gion Matsuri, one of the greatest festival in Japan, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
A Shinto religious celebration that is held every July, dating back to 869, in honor of Susanoo-no-Mikoto God. On July 16th (the last of the 3 Yoiyama nights) the great floats are ready and displayed for visiting. Many religious an popular events take place in Yasaka shrine, Kawaramaki district and Shijo Dori street.
The best option to enjoy the festival is overnight in nearby areas, due to traffic restrictions and crowd and to be ready for next morning Yamaboko Junkō parade. Don't miss the great street food also!
On July, 17th and 24th, the Yamaboko Junkō parade marches along Shijo, Kawaramachi and Oike streets. The Chi-go Celestial Child cuts the Shimenawa sacred rope with a single sword stoke, so the procession begins. The Yama are the smaller floats, the Hoko are the bigger, multi-storeyed floats up to 25 metres high and12 tons weight. The Yama are connected to the heavenly element with a pine tree, the Hoko with a very high pole on the top. Both are decorate with exquisite Japanise and Gobelin textiles and precious tapestries.
You can’t but admire so many details and the beautiful Japanese people around!
My gear in this video: Panasonic Lumix G9 and GX9, Panasonic-Leica 8-18mm, 12-60mm, 50-200mm. The video was edited in VideoProX.