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Japanese Sweets making Class, Kyoto (わがし作る従業

3/3/2013

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Japanese sweets, or wagashi, are carefully crafted sweets made with sugar, starch, rice, bean paste, and water. These sweets are unique to Japan and are best enjoyed with green tea. Kanshudo Honten is a sweets shop that also offers a sweets making workshop for 2000 yen (about $20). For 1.5 hours participants make 4 kinds of sweets.

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Girl's Day at shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto ( 雛祭り)

3/3/2013

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March 3rd is Girl's Day in Japan. This day is a celebration where people dress up dolls and display them in a tiered stand. The dolls are said to capture bad spirits, plus they look beautiful. Originally, the festival featured straw dolls put into boats that were sent out to the sea. Shimagamo shrine is Kyoto's most ancient shrines and dates back to 794. Nowadays, people can purchase straw dolls in a boat-like wreath. People can then release the dolls into the sacred shrine that winds its way through the grounds. I visited this event, and so did many other people. I was unable to get any great shots, or see much of the ceremony because of the crowds; however, the costumes were beautiful and the whole shrine was magnificent to see. Leaving the shrine after the ceremony was a trifle claustrophobic as people and children are all pressing to get out. However, the whole experience was unique and very interesting. Interesting to note that people nowadays do not release the dolls into the sea because they get caught in fishing nets, so there are staff that collect the straw dolls further down the river before the sea.
Interested in learning more? Click this link to the wiki page about Girl's Day celebrations.
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12 layered kimonos requires 2 helpers to manage at the "empress" goes to sit down.
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