the Land of Bob

Needless to say I'm a lot happier with this shot compared to yesterday's.

After starting the long gruelling road signposted "house hunting", three of us took a trip to the Yutenji (a temple/shrine) in the part of town I'd been searching - and where the other two guys live.

There were a great many people crowded into a small area with lots of food stalls sandwiched between Japanese version of circus stalls - there were "shoot something and you win it" varities and "pick up as many small balls from the water with this scoop that isn't water proof" varieties as well.

The main attraction was a large open tipi style stage that had drummers on the top half of the pyramid and dancers on the bottom half. The crowds were slowly and steadily moving around the base, following what could easily be described as a circular race track, whilst performing a traditional dance. I'm not sure who won.

The majority of the people there were dressed traditionally in Yukata. This, I'm told, is a less formal (and therefore expensive!) version of a kimono - they are for men and women.