Japanese festival in Inuyama

The Japanese people love celebrating tradition through festivals. I was lucky enough to be able to join Emily and her family for a festival in Inuyama. There, I was able to get a small glimpse into the culture of Japan. It was an amazing experience that I will remember for years to come. At this particular festival, they built mobile wooden shrines. On the very top, they build puppets that move to the beat of traditional Japanese music. The puppets tell a story through their movements. Here is a picture of one of the shrines. The puppets on top are controlled by men who are positioned underneath. The men must time the puppet's movements with the music. Very tricky and difficult, but amazing to see.

The front of the temple leading up to Inuyama castle.

The view from the very top of Inuyama castle! Japan really has beautiful landscapes.

This is Inuyama castle.

Putting the lanterns on the shrine thingys. At night, they light all the candles inside the lanterns and it looks so pretty!

This is a picture of me with Emily's family! Emily is on the left of me, then her sister is on the right with her dad and mom. Very nice family...it was good to be with them. They made me feel very welcomed.

The lanterns all lite up at night...very cool.

A few recent pictures, hehehe

The view from my apartment balcony! In the distance there is a huge ferris wheel. The Japanese people love ferris wheels...I'm begininng to think there are more ferris wheels than Starbucks in Japan!

After a hard day of teaching PE, I decided to climb on top of the 4th grade teacher's bookshelf and take a nap! Becky (the 4th grade teacher) took a picture of me while I was waking up, hahaha! Gotta love my confused face!

Typical street sign where I live. Thankfully, some street signs (like this one) have English words underneath.