(Feudal Lord's Procession in Hakone)
The festival shouts of 'Down! Down! The Lord comes!' echoing in the hot spring town under the autumn sky
Date: November 3rd
Place: Yumoto Hot Spring Town
City: Hakone-machi, Ashigara-Shimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
An annual tourist event held on Culture Day (a national holiday), November 3rd, at Yumoto Onsen, Hakone. A procession of a total of 170 people dressed up as samurai warriors and princesses parades over a distance of some 6 km in the hot spring town.
The procession is reproduced in the style of the Daimyo Gyoretsu (feudal lord's procession)which was also known as sankin kotai during the Edo Period (1603-1867). The suite of retainers, each assigned with his role, and armed with spear, bow and arrow, or gun, march on as they carry their lord in the palanquin to the words, 'Down! Down! The Lord comes!' voiced aloud by those leading the procession.
The sankin kotai was a system established by the Tokugawa Shogunate reigning over Japan back then to prevent its subordinate feudal lords from rising in rebellion. By obliging the daimyo lords to go back and forth between their domains and Edo (present-day Tokyo) in alternate years, the Shogunate Government aimed at weakening their financial power.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu departs from Sounji Temple, and while carrying out diverse activities on the way, arrives at Yumoto Fujiya Hotel, the final destination, a little past 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The festival is made all the more merry by the performances of the marching bands accompanying the daimyo procession at the front and at the very end, and the dance performances by the geigi unique to hot spring resorts (geigi are women who entertain guests at sake parties with song and dance). Another of the delights of the Daimyo Gyoretsu in Hakone is that you can enjoy bathing in an onsen hot spring to relieve your fatigue once the festival is over.
*Hakone Yumoto Station is about 15 minutes from Odawara Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway.
*Odawara Station is about 35 minutes from JR Tokyo Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen or 1 hour 30 minutes on the Tokaido Line.
*Hakone Hotel, near Lake Ashi would be the best choice for the stay, its near the event and it offers an open-air hot spring bath, with rates of 5,001-10000 yen, and triple twin bedrooms.
So, who wants to go on a tour with me?
Labels: travel, wanderlust, write ups
I'm not always like this. It's just so unusual. I wish I did not wake up this morning. Come to think of it, I woke up at 10:00 AM, and I don't know what I am supposed to do. I don't even know what to eat, because of these braces which were tightened last Friday. And dang, it still hurts. Really, it hurts. Thankfully, I'm still capable of eating ICE CREAM. I guess I'd accept that as a compensation.
I was thinking of what to write in this nonsensical blog entry. Then, I just remembered we have a new batch of scholars who'll go to Japan this October. Now that I mentioned it, its been almost a year since I last went there. I wonder what Tokyo looks like now. I miss everything Japan has to offer. I miss everything in Japan. The people, the places, and everything I saw there. I really miss Japan, and I really, really miss Disneyland.
I desperately want to go back to Japan, RIGHT NOW. But then I still have to wait two years (including this one) to be able to go back there again, and hopefully stay there to continue my studies. I still have at least two years to spend with my blockmates in UPM. How I wish I could finish BS-OT before I leave for Japan. I really do.
I have so many things running through my mind on what I want to do when I get back there (except for pursuing my studies there).
I want to experience the 'samui' air again.
I want to walk in the busy streets of Japan once more.
I want to ride the Shinkansen again. It's like riding an airplane, FIRST CLASS.
I want to try the Flight Simulator once more in JASDF, and fulfill my dream of becoming a pilot..in virtual reality, that is. (talk about my frustrations.)
I want to go kite-flying again. And their not the ordinary kites, they're HUGE!
I want to play baseball again!
I want to play bowling with my Japanese friends again.
I want to EAT Japanese food again. Really, the taste of original Japanese food is way much better (i can't find a decent adjective to describe it, so I came up with this one.) than the ones I have tasted here in the Philippines.
I want to speak Nihongo everyday again.
I want to go back to the arcades of AEON Mall.
I want to search the city for the best Hyaku-En shop out there.
I want to go back to Disneyland. Don't ask why.
I want to meet Ace again! (he's a FilJap studying in Japan. Fortunately, he became my classmate) I miss you buddy!
I want to buy myself a Robo-dog. I just wish it wasn't that expensive.
I want to take another Sumida River tour to Odaiba, and take another look at the Rainbow Bridge and the mini-Statue of Liberty.
I want to see snow...I wasn't able to, last time out.
I want to see Japan's beautiful sceneries, once more....
Ah, I just want to travel again... Wait for me Japan, wait for me...
Currently listening to: The New Theme Song of Tokyo Disneyland ( I wish I could get back there soon, and hopefully have the time to do it.)
Labels: travel, wanderlust
