Ikebukuro Festival
Last weekend was the first part of the annual Owl Festival here in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo. Ikebukuro is probably the biggest commercial district in Tokyo that sees virtually no tourists. Even though it is a major transit hub and the gateway to Tokyo for most people commuting in from the sleep towns of nearby Saitama prefecture. It might not have the best of reputations in Tokyo but it is as lively and dynamic as Shinjuku, Shibuya or Ueno, other major commercial districts on the Tokyo loop line, Yamanote line.
The name Ikebukuro in Japanese, 池袋, means a “pocket of land surrounded by water and ponds”, which I think is a nice way of saying that this area used to be a swamp. This is also where Japanese war criminals saw their finals day on this earth. It also had the distinction of being the area with the biggest concentration of departments stores on the planet.
Still, I come here very often often after work as it is a very convenient place to meet friends, it also has a vibrant night life, good shopping and the best bookstore in Japan (Junkudo).
Twice a year the city of Ikebukuro host the massive Owl Festival (a play on the words for Ikebukuro and Fukuro, owl) where festival teams from all over Japan gather to duke it out in a massive festival battle. Each year the best team wins fame and fortune (last year it was a team from Yamanashi Prefecture wielding long samurai swords!) and this year has 96 teams entering! Last weekend was the two day warm up with performances and local teams carrying the huge festival floats around the area, each trying to outdo each other in numbers, lung-power and colors. The main event takes place during two days in October, the 10th and the 11th. There’s also a photo contest open to anyone!
The teams rally under the banner (or rather lantern) of their leaders and then chant as they jostle to carry the heavy festival floats in a ritual procession around town. The more the merrier and people fight hard to get the best spots even if it means massive bruises and risking it in the general mayhem. Teams are identified by their colors and there’s usually special processions for children. Naturally, the friendly police officers are close at hand to make sure nothing goes to far. It’s all for fun.
If you have a chance, I really recommend coming to see it. I’ll be there!
The depth of field on the second one is just awesome.
On the fourth one too actually.
Great series overall as a matter of fact ^^
Thank you! I have part two, three and four of these (with videos!) coming up over the coming week. Yes, I shot these with a Nikon 85mm at f1.8 and a Sigma 30mm at f1.8 (naturally, on my DX body they’ll both be teles). The Nikon 85mm f1.8 is one of my faves, just wish it was sharper at full opening.