11:45pm セミナーハウス
We walked to Makino station, to save the 220円 bus fare to Hirakata station. I took about 20 mins. Ash was having a little bit of trouble in her 下駄 (geta - traditional Japanese scandals), which was fair enough; they look pretty awkward. We switched to the limited-express at Tambabashi and then got off at Gion-shijo. At this point I realised which shrine we were going to, as I'd been there before on my previous trip, and indeed, gone past it several times since being here. It was dark by this time, about 6:30. We walked the block, and got there. It was quieter than we had expected but soon after arriving, the ceremony began. I got pretty much all of it on video. It involved a lot of bowing, and chanting, in celebration of the harvest moon. That lasted for about an hour, and then came the music.
First, a traditional orchestra played, accompanied two dancers. Then, a koto ensemble played two pieces. As my video camera's batteries died, I had to use my camera to record which was a bit of a pain, as I can only take 3 minute blocks. I'm really glad that I recorded it though, because I'll be able to use it in my research project. Finally the Taiko drummers came out; they looked like they were having so much fun. It was very energised, and the choreography was really cool. This wrapped up the festival, and then we all received a stalk of芒 (susuki - Japanese pampas grass) from the priests. It's resting at my desk in my room right now! Ash and I bought an omamori for victory, and then we headed back to the train station. On the way we bought 団子 (dango - Japanese dumpling). This particular type was held by a skewer. It's related to mochi, and soooo yummy. I'm going to miss mochi sooo much when I get back to Australia!
天気：晴れ
Today was really great! I got up at about 9:30, had breakfast, washed my clothes, and cleaned the room. I hand washed my yukata and overalls. The overalls were great; didn't run at all. The yukata on the other hand, bled like mad, so I think I'm going to have to continue to hand wash it separately for a little while. I found out that tonight was one of three nights of the 月見祭 (tsukimi matsuri - moon-viewing festival) and temples and shrines in Kyoto would be holding events. A group of people were also going to Mount Hiei. Diego decided to join, but I declined as I'll be going there on a field trip with the history class in November. Instead I went out with Amber and met up with her speaking partner at the uni.
We walked to Midori, and Amber got her electronic dictionary, while I played on the pianos there, xD. We then went into "Raifu" (Life), the grocery store, and I got some supplies. We then walked over to McDonalds for lunch. I know, I know, it's no good, but... it won't kill me every now and then. Then we walked all the way back to the dorms, and I took a nap. I talked to Ash about where she was going for tsukimi, and she suggested we go to the 八坂神社 (Yasaka shrine), as it was the cheapest and easiest to get to; can't argue with that. So we finally got going at 10 past five. It was Ash, and Jeremy (from America), and I. Ash had donned her yukata, as did a few other girls, who were going with separate groups to other temples.
We walked to Makino station, to save the 220円 bus fare to Hirakata station. I took about 20 mins. Ash was having a little bit of trouble in her 下駄 (geta - traditional Japanese scandals), which was fair enough; they look pretty awkward. We switched to the limited-express at Tambabashi and then got off at Gion-shijo. At this point I realised which shrine we were going to, as I'd been there before on my previous trip, and indeed, gone past it several times since being here. It was dark by this time, about 6:30. We walked the block, and got there. It was quieter than we had expected but soon after arriving, the ceremony began. I got pretty much all of it on video. It involved a lot of bowing, and chanting, in celebration of the harvest moon. That lasted for about an hour, and then came the music. 
First, a traditional orchestra played, accompanied two dancers. Then, a koto ensemble played two pieces. As my video camera's batteries died, I had to use my camera to record which was a bit of a pain, as I can only take 3 minute blocks. I'm really glad that I recorded it though, because I'll be able to use it in my research project. Finally the Taiko drummers came out; they looked like they were having so much fun. It was very energised, and the choreography was really cool. This wrapped up the festival, and then we all received a stalk of芒 (susuki - Japanese pampas grass) from the priests. It's resting at my desk in my room right now! Ash and I bought an omamori for victory, and then we headed back to the train station. On the way we bought 団子 (dango - Japanese dumpling). This particular type was held by a skewer. It's related to mochi, and soooo yummy. I'm going to miss mochi sooo much when I get back to Australia!Finally got back here at about 10:30. I had a bowl of rice with soy sauce. I was really hungry today for some reason; I still am, lolz. Diego got back soon after. He said he had a really good time going to Mount Hiei, and showed me some pics. After that, the group was supposed to go to Daikakuji temple to see the festival there. Unfortunately, due to indecisiveness, they wasted an hour figuring out where to go. Deigo, Jessica, and Carly decided to split from the main group and try for daikakuji anyway, but didn't make it in time. What a bummer. I'm really glad I went tonight, and with the right group of people! Tomorrow, is study...
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