Omikoshi At Yasukuni Shrine

The first and last stop of most omikoshi, the portable shrines (believed to actually house the Gods) carried around town during shinto festivals, are usually the main shrine of the neighborhood. Not always, but usually. You can usually tell by writing where the omikoshi is from as the name of the neighborhood is written on lanterns or uniforms worn by the townspeople carrying it. In this case I saw the omikoshi of Kojimachi town entering Yasukuni Shrine at the Mitama Matsuri in July this year. It was proceeded by a music teams complete with drums and flutes in the darkness of the night. I think you can get an idea for how crowded it was near the head of the shrine, and the closer the omikoshi got the more crowded it got too. I did not get as close as I wanted, but sometimes it is okay to just stand back and observe as well.

If you are in Tokyo or Saitama today and want to see one of the biggest autumn festivals of the year, then do not miss the massive Kawagoe Matsuri today and tomorrow!