Bonden Festival, Akita

The Tiger is either trying to get back up or coming down, not sure which.

Two more of the displays in the Bonden Festival.

The object of the Bonden is not that they fight, but occasionally they may bump into each other as they are running up and down the street.

We have a Bonden down. Looks like the police may be on standby in the background.

Determination on the faces here as this JR group parades their Bonden down the street.

Lots of guys in this group getting ready to hear the winners of the best Bonden Award.

The Bonden is quite heavy and takes a lot of strength and determination to keep upright.

Looks like this guy needs to move a bit quicker to get out of the way here. — This guy needs to move a bit quicker to get out of the way here.

Lots of fun when the Bonden falls down. Everyone comes in to lend a hand.

Looks like we are going to need more help on this one !

Some of the children get to walk along the parade route.

Plenty of color and characters combining to make the matsuri a great event.

when the objects fell they were difficult to get back up again. Looks like the guy on the left has got something tangled in his hair. — When the Bonden fell they were difficult to get back up again. Looks like the guy on the left has got something tangled in his hair.

One of the displays shining against a blue sky.

I was invited to have a drink from this fellow's Sake cup. I told him instead I would take his photograph. Kanpai !

A portable shrine getting ready to be shown in the parade.

Plenty of color in these simple jackets. This red really stood out.

Another jacket, another everyday scene at the festival.

A portable gas bottle and a makeshift Nabe. Looks like the chefs might have had a few drinks too.

Some great snow footwear being shown off here.

Great day out for these locals, looking down the main street.

Festivals normally mean lots of fun and often Japanese Sake is involved

The middle of the day got quite warm and against the backdrop of snow and Sake it was time for some to just take a nap.

Bonden in the background with a Kamakura on the right. Great scenes from Akita.

Peering out from inside one of the Kamakura

The winners of one of the many contests.

Waling back through the crowd. — Walking back through the crowd.

Wonderful color here in the cloth and markings for part of this Bonden.

Local children get to march down the street with their exhibit.

Memories of the Bonden Festival, Sake, snow shoes and some litter.

What festivals have you attended in Japan? How were they?

16 comments

Comments are closed. These are from readers when the post was first published.

whipcracker 13 March 2010
SEE no more butts about it. by:whipcracker
whipcracker 13 March 2010
Is that a place where you get your hair cut? Looks like a barber pole to me.
whipcracker 13 March 2010
1 for now 1 to drink later. by:whipcracker
whipcracker 13 March 2010
Congrats to the winners. by:whipcracker
whipcracker 13 March 2010
That's the guy that was sitting in the middle of the road eating his ramen, from the other article previously posted.
whipcracker 13 March 2010
Bonden Festival, Akita, Japan Photo-Post http://ow.ly/1qeQMT A fun time for the young and old. Really colorful designs, especially w.tigers. Do I get a special cookie for #35? Everything is quite colorful if I do say so. I could have made a comment on all the photos, they were that great. :) Have a great weekend. :)
shibuya246 13 March 2010
well picked. you got it exactly right. :)
shibuya246 13 March 2010
What is this?
Andrea Watt 13 March 2010
I really enjoyed your photos. I could almost taste the sake and smell the nabe. Your camera does yellow and red so well!
shibuya246 13 March 2010
thanks. yes, yellow is one of my favorite colors with this camera. Back with paper prints, I used to always think Kodak was good for red, Fuji for Green, Minolta for blue. I never really saw yellow as a good photo color. With this Nikon camera the yellow is one of the standout clean colors. :)
lithiumangel 13 March 2010
oohhh ! This looks like a lot of fun ! I would definitly be cheering the particpants on;especially if one's knocked down :( Interesting also seeing some (older) locals armed with camera gear in some of your pictures ... i'd imagine that these local Matsuri could potentially be boring and uneventful for a local who's lived their entire lives there to capture on pictures. That's how I feel about my own hometown of Amsterdam; I used to take so many pictures here in the past; but these days if I even wanted to take a single (Good) one i'd have to force myself to it .. but I suppose that's me ! And that these Japanese people love their Matsuri no matter how many times they've seen it :) Speaking of locals capturing locals .. Meiji Jingu is really a good spot for seeing that happen; it's unbelievable to see just how much high-end camera gears these people carry around :)
Neksus 14 March 2010
Another great job. You are giving bad habits here ;) Now I want sake! Colors are something you can spot and snap like a 6th sense.
Tristan 14 March 2010
I love the jackets!! Great photos as always Alan..love # 15 for some reason!
shibuya246 14 March 2010
:) great pic on #15. everybody was standing around laughing at these guys who were milking it a bit as well.
HELLOSHEENA 15 March 2010
The tigers are my favorite.
janine 15 March 2010
Looks like a lot of fun! Great photos! I want to attend a Bonden Festival ^_^

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16 comments