Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Sightseeing in Kyoto: Kitano Tenmangu Flea Market

Although I lived in Kyoto for two years as an exchange student to I never had the chance to visit Kitano Tenmangu (北野天満宮)'s monthly flea-market even once (although I visited the shrine during one of their autumn light-up events at the Kitano Tenmangu garden).
Now I'm back in Japan for work, and before moving to Tokyo I spent a week in Kyoto, during which I finally got myself together and went to the "Tenjin-san" (天神さん) flea market  to take a look at what kind of things they were selling there.
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Many people visit the flea market every month
The Kitano Tenmangu flea-market takes place on the 25th of each month, and they sell a wide variety of old and traditional Japanese objects such as statues, pottery, kimonos and yukatas. I was quite  surprised at how big the market actually was, as I'd imagined it would be a lot smaller. It seems like a place you can get really good bargains too if you are interested in bringing home some unique Japanese souvenirs. I met up with one of my friends at the market, and she had already bought herself a nice yukata there to use at the upcoming Gion Matsuri festival.

A collection of old statues and pottery 
But you can also find things that are new here
Don't ask an obasan to take your picture. Although they're all so helpful with taking your photo you'll end up with pictures where the background motives are all covered up>< 
People lining up to go through a bamboo circle 
Tanukis and what looks exactly like the elephant statue my father bought in Thailand half a decade ago..
Cute frogs
You can find kimono for  both kids and adults at the market
...And of course takoyaki.
Since I'm moving to Tokyo and already had quite a lot to carry with me I didn't really buy any souvenirs from the market this time. But I will definitely keep the place in mind, and in the future I know I'll end up coming back here again if I get the chance.
If you're interested in visiting the Kitano Tenmangu shrine you could get there by bus number 50 from Kyoto station. This bus takes you directly to the shrine, a trip that takes around 30 minutes and costs 220 yen for adults.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
Anette

Basic information

Event The Tenjin-san (天神さん) flea market at the Kitano Tenmangu shrine

Access Bus number 50 from Kyoto station (30 min)
Time On the 25th of each month
Homepage http://kitanotenmangu.or.jp/index.php (Japanese only)

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me a comment or question below!
~Anette
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