The 37th Himeji Castle Moon-Viewing Festival

This year the Moon-Viewing Festival was on Friday, September 13th. This event follows the lunar calendar so it falls on a different date every year. The event started at 5pm and went on until 9pm. The Moon-Viewing Festival was for the Harvest moon. The Harvest moon is the first full moon closest to the Autumnal equinox. Many people found a spot to set up and had some food and drinks while they waited for the moon. There were also various performances, although it seemed most people who were sitting down were socializing and those who wanted to see the performances were standing closer to the stage.

 

  

                                                                                                           That is Himeji Castle's mascot Shiromaru Hime          

       

The pictures above are from Sannomaru Square, a large grass area in front of Himeji castle. There were different booths surrounding the area selling food and drinks. Trash cans are something we rarely see in public, and this event was no different. Instead they had a tent with a tarp on the floor where people could put their trash.

Trash disposal area

 

  

        Videos of Taiko drum performances 

View of the harvest moon

                   

As we were leaving we passed by the inner moat of the castle. There was a Wasen (Japanese boat) with high school students from Kotogaoka High School doing a Koto (Japanese harp) performance. We did not know they were going to be there and ended up staying a little longer watching their beautiful performance.