The festival is about carrying large shrines from the center of town up to the castle. A taico drumming group was playing along the route and really got the crowd into the spirit of the even. We arrived early and were lucky enough to see child sized shrines be carried by the next generation.
On the way from town, the shrines stop in a staging area at the entrance of the castle and everyone gets ready for the push up to the castle. Everyone waited there for a while (smoke break I guess)
And then the festival got underway!
The shrines move pretty slowly - the crowd slowly surges up the ramps into the castle. The shrines look pretty heavy. Besides the woman on top cheering, the shrines are gilded, wooden and elaborate.
And then they arrive at the Castle and have lunch under the sakura - the cherry blossoms.
And a big thanks goes out to Joanne for taking us!
