DATE:		May 20, 2007 (3rd Sunday of May every year) From 12:00 to around 16:30
PLACE:		23 Saga Asahi-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (Boats can be viewed at Oi River)
DIRECTION:		From Kyoto Station - Kyoto Bus #71, #72 or #73 to Kurumazaki-jinja-mae From Sanjo Keihan - City Bus #11 or Kyoto Bus #61, #62 or #63 to Kurumazaki-jinja-mae Keifuku Densetsu Arashiyama Honsen Line to Kurumazaki-jinja Station
TEL:		81-75-861-0039
ADMISSION:		Free
TEXT:		Established in 1928, Mifune Festival is an extended part of the annual Kurumazaki Shrine festival. It originated in 898, when retired Emperor Uda went on a gyoko (outing of a retired emperor, pious ex-emperor or female member of the retired emperor's family) to Arashiyama and held a boating party on Oi River.  The festival recreates such a party in the Heian period (794-1185) by launching some 20 boats on the water, including a Goza-bune (boat for gods), a Ryuto-sen (boat for dances of dedication) and a Gekisu-sen (boat for tea ceremony). The scene is reminiscent of the elegance of the Heian Imperial Dynasty, making this event one of Kyoto’s most famous early summer traditions.