More Shibuya Nebuta Matsuri 2012

More photos from the mini Nebuta Matsuri in Tokyo’s Shibuya district last weekend! The first time I saw the nebuta matsuri was here in Shibuya, and I didn’t really get the costumes or the strange melody of the flutes, but the more I see it the more I get it and now I think I am hooked. One of these days I have to make my way up north to Aomori prefecture and see this festival “in the wild”!

Shibuya Nebuta Matsuri 2012

Just like last year (see my blog here and here) Shibuya threw a mini-Nebuta Matsuri this weekend. You might remember the posts about the much bigger Nebuta Matsuri in Western Tokyo last month. The floats in this mini festival is much smaller than the real things but still look pretty impressive. The strangely addictive Nebuta flutes and drums really helped setting the amotsphere and the kids sent down from a high school and a university in Aomori prefecture were as lively as always!

More Nebuta Matsuri – Tachikawa

More photos from the fantastic Nebuta Matsuri in western Tokyo’s Tachikawa City last weekend. You might remember last year’s blog post about the mini-Nebuta Matsuri in Shibuya last year, the floats in Tachikawa were much bigger and more varied, a lot of thought had gone into the decorations on them, as even the backsides were lit and decorated with paintings of mythical characters or buddhist stories. Great stuff! I took these photos with a variety of prime lenses, but it was really really dark so I had to crank up the ISO on my Nikon D700. Enjoy!

Nebuta Matsuri – Tachikawa

In August every year the legendary Nebuta Matsuri from the north of Japan visits Tokyo for real, in the western Tokyo city of Tachikawa. You don’t get many chances to see the real thing this far south so of course I went to see it. It’s a three day event and I caught the last of it. During the festival they parade huge lit floats of mythological characters made out of paper while dancers, drummers and flutists dance wildly around in their very colorful costumes and decorated amigasa headwear. The floats look great and the main street of the festival area is full of people enjoying the great food put out by the local shops and organizations. Tachikawa is only 27 minutes from Shinjuku on the fastest commuter train. I’ll post more photos later!