Nara, Tenjin Festival and Kurumon

Well, most people have visited Osaka and Nara (best guess) so I think this would jst serve as a personal insight on what we did during the Tenjin Festival.

We came back from Osaka from Gifu prefecture and one of our stops was the KURUMON market.

definitely a foodie paradise for fresh seafood and other goodies

whole abalone in soy sauce.... so yummy!!!! 1600 yen or $15

 The whole abalone was a winner!!! went back for more!

grilled scallops... 

fresh uni (sea urchin)  about $11 a pc

tak0yaki heaven 

My kids ate several plates

you can actually pick and choose a lot... like resh sushi or sashimi or your choice. some places get crowded and better to scout around because price differ from store to store. We and a full brunch right there. After which, we took a train to NARA for some deer.....

The deer were quite aggressive when they know you have food... they would nudge you and bite your clothes... you can also make them bow to you... you just have to bow to them and they will bow back

The children had fun with the deer and we did not tour the temples anymore... since we were supposed to get back for the tenjin festival..

Tenjin Festival is every July 24 and 25 and it involves a lot of parades which will culminate when the images of the Gods are loaded into the boats and they would circle the city.

some people in the viewing decks

The city came alive with people... and it was interesting to watch how the street (near the festival sight was transformed into street food heaven... lots of new things to try, candy apples too. Most of the people tend to gather around the village to watch the floats come by...

Locals in traditional japanese costume (imspite of the summer heat!)

this was pretty good

I hate crowds but Japanese people are so nice and courteous that you won't mind mixing with them.. they dont even push and actually keep a good distance from you... so you never feel there is a "crowd".. loved the experience!