Weekends in August 12:00-18:00 at Hanagumo Bar on Miyagawacho in Gion, Kyoto.  Party Saturday, Aug. 7, Closed Aug. 8.
All my photos were taken by my ketai camera as I work and play around Kyoto and Osaka mostly. It’s my Nippon world, but I feel like the viewer, not really part of the parade. [...]

“For Gaza” is a Kyoto based collective that creates events to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, combining music, dance and politics with guest speakers, films and discussion.

This should be a great evening- with the proceeds going to JVC as has been the case with our previous events.

Elementary school kids ride free on Kyoto city buses (normally kids are half adult fare) through 8.31  by saying “Eco-summer” to the driver when getting off the bus. This is good for up to two kids per group, so if you have a big group, make sure they sit apart and pretend not to [...]

From a show I attended a few years ago.
Intense concentration

We have had brutal rainy-season storms this week. This evening at dusk the storm clouds did something weird to the last bit of light. Sorry for the shaky cam; if you can’t stand it skip ahead to 38 seconds for the first color change and 1:20 for the second. I tried to go “Whoa! Whoa!” [...]

In this first clip from the upcoming Peter MacIntosh/Nils Ferry video program Alive in Kyoto, Peter visits Nishiki Ichiba market and, after a snack of kara-age fried chicken, introduces a shop specializing in dashimaki omelettes, where the proprietor Mr. Tanaka shows us how it’s done.

The 2010 Gion Matsuri (festival) parade of yama and hoko “floats” is coming up. This is a spectacle of ancient pageantry not to be missed.

Also, on the three days and nights leading up to the parade, Yoiyama (16th), Yoi-yoi-yama (15th) and Yoi-yoi-yoi-yama (14th), revelers stroll up and down shijo street and the other main downtown streets, many in colorful summer yukata, eating, drinking, carousing, visiting the floats and listening to the distinctive music of the festival.

山城総合運動公園太陽が丘 • Yamashiro Sports Park at Taiyou ga Oka Here’s a recommendation for beating the summer heat in Kyoto. It’s open July 15 – August 31.
I had thought there was a simple public pool at this huge sports complex in Uji, Kyoto, but it turns out there is a really fun water park for kids [...]