Dream Trip 2008: February

Great Travel Moment

I was with a host family for a few days, acclimating myself to life in Japan before moving to Tokyo for 2 months. My host family took me to a festival near their small town of Hayama. I had just arrived at the festival and was awestruck by the overwhelming colors, movement, and sheer "foreignness" of it all. I was snapping away with my camera and managed to catch this beautiful fleeting moment - the young girl, holding her father's hand and dressed in a yakata (kind of an informal kimono), glances somewhat admiringly at an older girl passing by. I like how this photo captures not only the emotion on the young girl's face but also the movement of the festival. This moment was just the start of many adventurous moments to come in my two months living in Japan.