I went to Sagano to visit「時雨殿」(Shigure-den), which was part museum, part theme park and was produced by Nintendo. The cost to build the museum was paid from ex-Nintendo President's pocket money. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for renovation until next March, 2012. I really regretted that I hadn't visited this museum when I was in Sagano several years back.
(1) Sagano / Arashiyama, Kyoto
Impressive roof decoration depicting a dragon holding a ball.
The famous bamboo surrounded street.
A flower arrangement. This was displayed to demonstrate a practical use of bamboo, a flower vase.
A nice souvenir from Sagano, Kyoto. Please check out a short video I took that demonstrates how it works.
(2) Photos from other cities in Kansai area other than Kyoto
A nice shiny modern train from a private railroad company.
A scene from Wakayama castle
Tenjin street in Osaka, which is known for the "Longest Arcade in Japan"
Umeda, Osaka
Chindon'ya
"Chindon'ya are a type of elaborately costumed street musicians in Japan that advertise for shops and other establishments." (Wikipedia) The lady with drams proclaims what is being offered while another lady hands out flyers and a guy plays clarinet. I didn't think of taking a movie of the scene until they had moved into the restaurant finishing the advertisement for the day.
Note: I found the following video from YouTube, the atmosphere and the melody played are quite similar to what I witnessed. Each Chindon'ya developed its own character so each one of them is unique.
