Nagahama's Kimono Festival

Nagahama holds a kimono festival every year where hundreds of young women dress up in kimono's. Drawings for prizes such as cars and trips are given away so a lot of people participate. Nagahama first started having a kimono festival because they wanted more people to buy silk. Kimono's are made from silk and are very expensive. They can run into hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Nagahama used to produce a lot of silk so in order for people to buy more of it, they decided to have this festival. The tradition has since stuck. I want to buy a kimono, but since they are so expensive I might just get a yukata. They are similar, but yukatas are worn during the summer and are lightweight. Though I wasn't wearing a kimono at this festival, some guy still took my picture. Definitely random!