北野天満宮Kitano Tenmangu

On the 25th of every month, a large flea market is held at Kitano Tenmangu, a large shrine in northern Kyoto. Being that today was Saturday, I had absolutely no reason not to go. I mean, I could just be a shut-in anime fanatic that leaves their room for food, maybe, but that would just be stupid.

毎月、25日に、北野天満宮でフリーマーケットがある。その北野天満宮は京都の北に大きい神宮だ。今日は土曜日だから、行けない理由がない。まあ、引きこもりになるけど、その仕方は絶対バカなんだ。

I took my usual route into the city, Okubo to Imadegawa by train, and got on a city bus at Imadegawa over to Kitano Tenmangu. The bus was packed. I mean, I'm used to crowds after riding the subway every morning, but this was ridiculous. Let's just say I wasn't the only one going to the shrine.

いつも通り、大久保駅から今出川駅まで電車を乗った。今出川駅で、市バスを乗って、北野天満宮前に降りた。そのバスに、人が多すぎた。毎日電車を乗るから、人がたくさんいることは問題じゃないけど．．．僕だけ神宮に行くことじゃない。

Pretty much right after getting off the bus, I took this picture, of the torii gate next to the road. Sadly, you can't see the taiyaki stall that I made a beeline for right after taking the picture. All the food was out front; all of the stalls visible in the picture were selling food of some kind. And I love taiyaki, so of course I had to get a snack! (uguu~)

バスを降りた後で、この写真を撮った。写真で、北野天満宮の鳥居が見える。残念だけど、たい焼きの店が見えない。その屋台店は全部食べ物の店だ。そして、たい焼きが大好きだから、もちろん食べた！（うぐぅ～）

And right after I bought my taiyaki, I ran into a friend purely by accident. I hadn't really contacted anyone else, so I wasn't planning to meet anyone, but it wasn't at all surprising to learn that I wasn't the only one there. There were a lot of places to buy kimonos, and a ton of food places too. I didn't really see much I had to have... I do want a kimono, but I'd rather have help from my host parents for that. I did buy a small fold-out fan, which is probably not necessary now that it's starting to get cooler.

たい焼きを買った後で、友達を出会った。誰も連絡しなかったから、会う予定がないけど、友達がいるのはびっくりじゃない。このマーケットで、着物の店と食べ物の店がたくさんあった。買いたいものがあまりない．．．着物を買いたいけど、僕のホスト両親を手伝った方がいいと思う。涼しくなるだから、多分必要じゃないけど、扇子を買った。

Oh, and I kind of got lunch... the taiyaki wasn't the only food I bought. A little while later, I picked up a pork bun and ate that. It wasn't great (auuu~), but I felt like I should at least try it. Anyone care to guess why I felt like trying the pork bun?

そして、昼ご飯を食べた。たい焼きだけじゃない。後で、肉まんを買って、食べた。あまりおいしくない（あううぅ～）けど、食べてみたいと思った。まあ、「なぜ肉まんを食べてみたいか」とは答えられるか。

The shrine itself was also packed almost beyond belief, which I imagine is part of the point of having this market. I thought about buying a protective charm and praying at the main shrine building, but I'd rather do those kinds of things when there aren't long lines involved.

神宮も人は多すぎた。僕はお守りを買おうと思ったけど、そんなことは人が少ない時にした方がいいと思う。

Besides, I took some cool pictures. Are those naginatas?

まあ、かっこいい写真を撮った。こんなのは長刀か。

Well, anyway. I had fun. The flea market was really interesting, but I would kind of like to come back and see the shrine when it's not filled with people. So I bet this isn't the last time I'll be going to Kitano Tenmangu.

とにかく、楽しかった。フリーマーケットは面白かったけど、人が少ない時の神宮も見たい。だから、この時は最後の北野天満宮に行く時じゃない。