Photo of the Day: Windswept

... ohgod! The wind!

This weekend, I went with some friends to Japan Fest in Houston, located in Hermann Park. We partook of the stalls along the reflecting pool, people-watched and had an overall good time!

It was a beautifully sunny day (with a hell of a lot of wind)!



Japan Fest brings together local groups and businesses which focus on Japanese culture.
The site is transformed for a weekend into a (mostly) traditional Japanese festival with food, music, martial arts and even a Mikoshi on display. People from all over the city (and some even further away) come out to celebrate. We encountered lolitas and cosplayers, watched members of a ninjitsu dojo practice falls and rolls, witnessed a Taiko-driven parade, listened to two shamisen players duel it out,  ate food that did us no good and generally enjoyed ourselves.

My friend also happens to be something of an expert when it comes to kimono and kitsuke (she writes The Kimono Lady, focusing on various aspects of kimono culture and wear), so we were able to dress up a bit! She let me borrow and obi and the appropriate ties and trappings to hold my yukata together.

I'm still working on the photos I took (and which my friends took for me on my camera), but I'll be putting up an in-detail post about the event soon.

There are also photos taken by other folks who attended the festival here:
Japan Fest Houston on Flickr
Houston Photowalks Japan Fest Album