2009 Mikoshi Parade

Each year the base sponsors a Mikoshi parade. Many of the small towns around Yokosuka brink their Mikoshi's to the base and parade them around. A Mikoshi is a shrine that is very ornately decorated. The tradition is that each village carries it through the streets of their village at the end of the summer....the harder they shake it, the louder they chant, and the higher they raise it the more luck they are said to bring to their village. So, once a year they all bring them to the base and parade through the streets to bring the base luck and good fortune. It is quite an event. It is an open base event and there are generally about 60,000 visitors on the base during the day. As you can see, many of the Japanese are dressed in traditional Japanese attire. Some of them have on more than others.....some of them have on hardly anything at all. I am not sure why, but modesty goes out the window during the Mikoshi parade.....men prance around in nothing but a sheet like g string.........mmmmm...mmmmm!

Carson has giant leaf ears as we walk to the Mikoshi Parade. You just gotta love the FAll!

This was the CFAY (Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka) mikoshi. This one is sponsered by the Navy Base and is carried mostly by Americans.
I am not sure what Calvin was taking a picture of......The beautifully dressed Japanese woman with her kimono and slippers or the two men in front of her baring their bottoms!
You can see some of the Mikoshi's in the background.

This guy forgot his pants