Sanja Matsuri – The Big Ending

The Grand Sanja Matsuri in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa district is one of the biggest in the country and this year it was the 700th anniversary as well. It’s famous for being overwhelmingly crowded even though it is spread out over several city blocks. It’s a three day event, all building up to the big ending on the Sunday night where three of the main omikoshi, the portable shrines, get to be presented in front of the great temple Sensoji, approaching through the Kaminarimon (the gate of thunder) where the traditional lantern has been raised. It’s possible to witness this from the front of the temple but only a few hundreds can fit in the small area that is made even smaller by huge portable metal gates being rolled out to restrict access. I wasn’t one of those brave people up front this year so I stayed out in front of the Kaminarimon to see the mayhem up there instead. It was amazing! tens of thousands of people had crowded in front of the gate when the priests showed up. And at just that moment, even though the main street had been closed for traffic during the whole day someone decided that it was time for the city buses to start running on their normal routes again. The whole crowd let out a collective groan as the lone police officer tried to tell people to move aside, much easier said than done. It took quite some time for the bus to move through the crowds and we all cheered and clapped when the first bus passed us, the few passengers inside looked really surprised to be getting this almost royal treatment and waved back at us. And then the omikoshi came, at first the elders tried to tell us gently to step back as the beast of a thing came lumbering towards us on its feet of dozens of bearers, when that didn’t work they yelled, and finally pushed as people scrambled to get out of the way of a couple of ton of lumber, metal and men. For some reason the crowd made it and no-one was hurt, not even the little kids next to me! I wasn’t able to take any photos of the scramble as I was busy staying on two feet and keeping my camera from becoming too friendly with the asphalt. Great fun by all and lost of cheering when the omikoshi was presented to the shrine and disappeared to make the last journey towards the main temple building. Being unable to follow that part I took some photos of the usually superbly calm police officers looking as cool as always!

I can really recommend this festival if you are lucky to be in town next time it comes, May 17 to 19, 2013. Try and go all three days and enjoy the food, the music and the crowds!

Asakusa Sanja Matsuri – Crowded Spaces

A friend of mine who recently visited Tokyo showed me his guidebook where there was a fantastic line in a chapter called dangers and annoyances: “1. Avoid crowded places”. I am not sure what the author of that best selling line of guidebooks meant but both my friend and I concluded that to follow that advice would mean to miss out on everything that is Tokyo. Everything in Tokyo is crowded, or at least the train to get there will be. Many of the best things in Tokyo is only possible to enjoy if you’re not too worried about crowds or being jostled. I often here foreigners retell stories of how they’ve been manhandled in Japanese crowds but in my experience Japanese crowds are very well behaved, compared to some of the crowds I have experienced in many other countries. And I should know, I am usually in the middle of every crowd anywhere anything is happening in Tokyo! But the reason I mention crowds is that I wanted to share these photos from yesterday’s great Sanja Matsuri, a three day even going on from Friday to Sunday, which could well be the most crowded festival in Tokyo! It rivals the most crowded moment even in that fantastic Saitama festival, the Kawagoe Matsuri. It’s no just on city block, it’s the whole area of Asakusa, and the crowds follow the omikoshi (the golden portable shrines) around. This means that photography is very difficult. All the good spots will be taken and the crowds will make most photos look cluttered and uninteresting. It’s a real challenge! Combine that with a blazing sun, a sizzling skin, eyes hurting, and equipment getting stuck in other people! In short, it’s great fun! Countless times did I think I had found a sweet spot only to be told off by security volunteer guards or gently informed by the police that the place I had picked would shortly be overrun by yet another unplanned procession. But we all take it in good stride and I never saw anyone lose their tempers over the odd mis-placed heel or elbow.

Another thing I thought about yesterday was the number of old people taking part of in the festival. This really is a multi generational event, everyone from kids to some really frail looking grandpas pitching in and making sure the festival is successful. I wish the older people in all countries could enjoy such a community spirit! When I’m on trains or in shops I am always respectful of older people partly because I know that without them we wouldn’t have these amazing festivals and traditions.

700th Anniversary – Asakusa Sanja Matsuri Right Now

If you’re in central Tokyo today or tomorrow, you just have to come visit the 700th anniversary of the biggest Tokyo festival, happening right now in Asakusa – the Sanja Matsuri! There’s no excuse really. Expect big crowds and lots of drunk happy men in much too little clothes. Fun for all! I took these snaps earlier today, but the festival is still going on. Enjoy!

Bonodori Drummers

In July last year during the strict electricity savings I took these photos at a bondori festival in Zoshigaya near Ikebukuro in central Tokyo. Bonodori festivals are always in the summer, hot, sticky and very intense, one of the classic Japanese summer festivals. It is usually difficult to take photos in the lights from the bonodori lantern decorations, but this summer the festivals were even darker than usual, just as dark as in these pictures, and the only light being a bright red. This particular festival is usually visited by a group of young and very talented taiko drummers. Just editing these pictures I really started to long for summer, before spring has barely started!