Takeo City Matsuuri Festival - More horsing around.

This event held every year in Autumn around Japan is called Matsuuri. Matsuuri is a special religious event at the end of the rice harvest. Yabusame is horse archery. The riders have 2 tries at hitting a small wooden target, whilst riding their horse down a narrow course. This year, 3 riders took part in Takeo town's Yabusame competition. The youngest rider was an 18 year old high school student. I think it was her first time. She was very brave and managed to hit many targets. I was talking to one of the local spectators about the great riders at our pony club and he was very impressed. To finish off a great day I was interviewed by the local T.V. channel. 

Yabusame is a ceremony in which archers clad in the hunting outfit of medieval warriors shoot at three targets as they race by on horseback. 

Until the Middle Ages, shooting arrows while riding a horse running at full speed was an important skill for warriors, and yabusame began as a form of military training combining horsemanship and archery. The shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), who set up his shogunate (military government) in Kamakura, enthusiastically studied and promoted the art. It was under his order that the ritual at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine started in 1187. Yoritomo hoped to heighten warriors' mental strength and religious devotion by carrying out yabusame as a Shinto ritual.

Relaxing before the event.

The traditional saddle.

The parade before the event.

The rider and horse ready for action.

Deer skin chaps.

Horse and rider working together.

Ready to fire.

Horse Bath Heaven

This amazing holiday resort for horses is in Salzburg city Austria. In the old days horses rested here between journeys and freshened up before their next jaunt . While they relax and enjoy bathing, they can view some beautiful paintings of their family that adorn the walls.

I'm sure Mozart would have enjoyed a stroll past the horse baths!

More Animal Designs

Here are some more designs that you might like to copy. You can add a design around the animal like the fox cup. Have fun.

Bright Ideas

Here are some colourful and interesting ideas for your next pottery creation.

A Hotel with a Difference.

Have you ever heard of an Insect Hotel? Well here it is! A hotel especially for your favourite insects. There are many places for insects to live and many apartments are available for rent. You could have fun making an insect hotel, but watch out for those pesky wasps.

Insect paradise.

Clay or wood apartments for rent!

In German this is known as an Insektenhotel.

A small rental property.

This one is mounted on the side of a house.

Paint an Animal Japanese Style.

Here are some simple instructions on how to paint animals with a Japanese style to them. Just follow each step carefully and you should have a neat painting. Good Luck!

Spinning Top

Check out these cool spinning top designs. This would be a cool project for technology.

I wonder which one would spin the longest?

3D Me Please.

Now you can be made into your own plastic model. First you are scanned from all angles then a tricky machine makes you out of plastic. All you have to do is paint yourself. Looks like a whole lot of fun.

Look closely and you can see the model of the young girl with the red backpack.

Japan-can

There are some fun creations being made in Japan every year. Designers across Japan have to keep there ideas fresh as there is a lot of competition for the next cool product. Do people need it? Well you be the judge.

Pig Balloons.

Individual toed shoes.

Mobile phones that look like mints.

Felix Baumgartner

Inspired by astronauts he saw on T.V. Felix was inspired to fly helicopters and learn how to sky dive. He has gained awards for being the World Action Sportsperson of the Year and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. Here is his carbon wing that he used to free fall across the English Channel.

That's also Bull.

Did you and your family enter the competition to have your photo printed on a formula 1 racing car? Well many people did and here is the result. Smile!

The fastest face in the West!

There's Bob from Timaru!

That's Bull

So what's happening at the Red Bull Hanger I hear you asking. Well all things aeronautical! Felix Baumgartener ascended 127,852 feet to earth from outer space and here is his ship and suit. He fell to earth with supersonic speed over Roswell Mexico. How did he get up there in the first place? In a helium balloon of course.

Scientists and medical researchers gained a lot of information from this crazy free-fall.

Toe Nail Heaven

Painted nails in Japan are very popular and have become quite an art form. You can choose from many styles, but one that is always popular is Leopard. Could you design a nail art that says something special about you?

This delightful design is called Leopard.

Flea Market - Japanese car boot sale.

A flea market is a fun place to go to see what people have had stashed in the back of their cupboards for many years. It's a great way to recycle junk that is no longer needed. Some flea markets are very big, like the one I visited in a baseball stadium last year. A flea market is a basically a Japanese style garage sale. People only want $1.00 or $2.00 per item, so it's a great place to go if you want some cheap shopping. I'm not sure how the name flea market came about, but maybe you can guess. 

A rather large Flea Market.

Fukuoka Dome.

A keen shopper eyes-up a bargin.

This fan was connected to a car battery.

$300.00 for this doggy.

Smile for the camera.

Yutoku Shrine Visit

Going to a temple or shrine in Japan is a very exciting thing to do. You can see amazing buildings that have been standing for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. People come here to pray and they sometimes have ceremonies for special events. You can ask the priest to do a special ritual for you to bring good luck and happiness to your family. During the new year celebration many people come to pray and also to buy lucky charms for the coming year. You can even get a fortune paper to help predict how positive the coming year will be for you. 

In these photos you can see the girls are wearing a summer kimono  (Yukata). They are very colourful and are worn in the summer especially to (Hanabi) or fireworks festivals. The bright colours make everyone one feel great as they enjoy food and fireworks under the summer night sky.

The entrance to Yutoku Shrine.

Guardians protect the front of the shrine.

The bright colours of the "summer kimono" or Yukata.

One of 3 very famous shrines in Japan. Yutoku Shrine in Kyushu.

This face should be able to ward-off evil spirits.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

I have never seen a target on a toilet until I starting seeing these in the "boys" in Japan. Our aim is to keep this toilet clean and you aim will help. This is a great idea to keep boys on target and stop them messing the floor. Maybe this could improve things at your house.

"I can see the target captain."

"I'm closing in!"