三社祭 Sanja Matsuri - Part 3

We continue this series of posts about a famous festival in Tokyo.....Part one is HERE. Part two is HERE.

The Sanja Matsuri began on Friday, with a parade in the streets near Asakusa in Tokyo. As we watched the parade file past, I later moved to the inner shrine of Sensoji, where the route would finish.
I managed to get a great spot in front of a walkway, where the parade participants marched past. Here are some photos from the day...please enjoy!


The red-wigged man again, close up this time:

My personal favorite -- the musicians and dancers: 

I also shot a video to give readers a sense of the quiet atmosphere on the first day of this festival. Very simple music, with people marching silently by -- it's a very solemn way to begin the three day festival. From day two onwards, the crowds become loud and jovial. I like this contrast very much. ^_^

The whole day had been quite hot so I rewarded myself with some ramune flavored ice cream. Cost? ¥200 ($2/ 80 baht). Ramune tastes similar to cream soda in Canada, so I really like the flavor.

I didn't brave the larger crowds on the second and final days of this festival; if you are curious and want to see more, visit HERE*, or just come to Tokyo in mid May to see it all in person! ^_^

* Video courtesy of Gustavo Thomas via Vimeo.

Sanja Matsuri is held in mid May every year. Location: Sensoji shrine and surrounding area in Asakusa Tokyo. Information is HERE. This event is completely FREE! ^_^

*** Special Message: 

July 1st is Canada Day. My home country celebrates its 146th birthday today. You can read more about celebrations in the country and around the world HERE. 

三社祭 Sanja Matsuri - Part 2

Photos from a famous Tokyo festival continue...

As mentioned yesterday, a meetup group and I enjoyed the opening day parade celebrating the start of the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa, Tokyo.

Here are some more pictures from that event in mid May:

A group of men sporting straw hats (I love a man in a hat, so these guys were cool):

There was a group of 3 women dressed in these costumes -- this is reflective of other festivals which take place in April, May & November. Several women perform a dance as these birds. (See a photo HERE. Information in Japanese is HERE)

The headpiece looked very heavy! @_@

After the parade, we made our way back to the shrine, and waited an hour in front of a small, traditional stage. While waiting, I watched a crowd gather and spotted this older guy....
 He looked ready to hit the Roppongi clubs after!

Finally, the performance was ready to begin.
Here, some drummers performed music before the dancers entered the stage.

Here are the dancers. They were carrying a wooden instrument, which had many small pieces of wood hanging from a string. That string was attached to two thick, black pieces of wood, which they held with their hands. They stretched the wooden pieces by manipulating the rope and then slapped the pieces together to make the sound. I had never seen that instrument before, and as a lover of music, the sound really intrigued me. I'm sorry I didn't shoot a video! (cries)

During the performance, I decided to get a shot of the crowd, just to show you the popularity of this festival:

cutenekko swims in a sea of camera ^_^

Before the dance and musical performance, I managed to get great shots of the earlier parade participants returning to the shrine. Here is a preview shot of tomorrow's post. Enjoy! 

The male kimono...quite nice eh?

Sanja Matsuri is held in May. Information on this festival is HERE. The shrine featured in this post is called Sensoji and is located in Asakusa area of Tokyo. Sensoji hosts many other festivals during the year. Click HERE to see more (enable "translate" on your browser if your computer does not support 日本語). 

三社祭 Sanja Matsuri - Part 1

Back in May, I joined a group on meetup.com to enjoy one of the most famous festivals in Tokyo -- Sanja Matsuri. Matsuri is the Japanese word for "festival". The word Sanja literally means "three shrines"(source). The festival is held in and around the well known Sensoji shrine, in Asakusa. (Tokyo Map)

Sanja Matsuri is held over a period of three days; Friday consists of a parade and is less crowded, while Sunday is the main event -- the participation of hundreds in carrying large, ornately adorned portable shrines, called mikoshi. (See pic - source: Google Images via Blogger). Our group met on the first day of the festival. We enjoyed watching a parade, viewing a dance and listening to traditional music.

I took a lot of photos to share. Please enjoy! ^_^

Our group arrived early to explore the shrine of Sensoji:

One of two large gates at the shrine.

There were lots of food stalls set up selling yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers), kakigori (shaved ice with flavored syrup), yakisoba (fried noodles) candy apples, and others. I didn't buy anything here, just eating with my eyes. (laugh)

We waited on a side street next to the shrine for the parade to start. A float arrived one hour later carrying musicians, signaling the start of the festival. Cool!

I wiggled my way to the front of the sidewalk so I could take photos. I noticed these gents in very dapper hats marching past....

....another unique hat and....!?!?! I asked around about the red wig guy, but no one seemed to know why he was dressed like that. My guess: he is dressed to resemble a Japanese God figure, or some kind of legendary hero (former Lord or samurai?), most likely from the area. Readers, please help!

I really liked these guys the best. The large, fringed hats swayed while they walked. Some played drums; others played the bamboo flute.

Sanja Matsuri is very famous in Tokyo and a "must see" event in May. It's very crowded, but exciting. You can read more about this festival HERE. 



Sensoji Shrine information is HERE. Access to Asakusa area is via Tokyo Metro, Ginza line or Asakusa Line. Station: Asakusa. Walk to the shrine in 5 minutes.




Tomorrow, I'll show more pictures and videos of this traditional festival. 

Ultraman Train Event

I would like to take a break from the Degustacion de Tapas posts to report about several local events.

These past two months I've been out exploring several small festivals and snapping photos. Today, I'll focus on a train event held in Kanagawa.

The Sotetsu train line, which runs from Yokohama station to Ebina, with another route branching off to Shonandai (beach area), held an event for train affectionados. The event was called: 走るウルトラヒーロ電車 [lit: Run Ultra Hero Train]; one Sotetsu train was adored with images of Ultraman (a famous children's TV hero) for guests to enjoy.

Visitors were allowed to walk on the rail tracks and view the train up close:

There were a lot of people stumbling over the rocks....

I also got to see Ultraman and Ultraman 7 up close, strutting their stuff and power posing for the crowd:

Ultraman 7 is in blue. Regular Ultraman is to your right.
You can see the special Ulraman train in the background. 

Hero power!

"This is my best side...please...snap away!"

There was also a signpost of the train station on the tracks, where I got a photo:

Cutenekko: 電車女 (Train girl)

The coolest part of this event? An open flea market for train geeks, where Sotetsu staff were selling off all kinds of train gear. Check out what I found in the market!

Hand straps: 

Cost? ¥700 ($7 / 250 Baht)

Sign plates -- these are seen inside train carriages: 

Pricy!!! One sign = ¥8,000 ($80 / 2,600 baht)

Signs showing the route map and stations: 

Prices were: ¥3 ~ 4,000 (= $30 ~ 40 / 1,000 ~ 1,600 Baht)

Every item was for sale although not many people were buying. I also saw: timetable charts, wheelchair stickers, old switchboards, even a chair from inside the conductor's office!! There were many 電車男[train men] there enjoying the atmosphere and snapping up small momentos.

This event was completely free and really fun. I'm glad I went!

Tomorrow, I'll feature an annual festival in Yokohama, which celebrates the opening of port in 1858.
I got to meet lots of handsome guys in uniform! Woo!! ^_^

Sotetsu Train information is HERE. The press release PDF is HERE. (日本語だけ）