Isezakicho Omikoshi – Nitenbo and Yontenbo

If you have been to Japan, or indeed just following my blog, you will be familiar with the massive portable shrines (omikoshi) used during festivals all over the country. You might have noticed that there are a few different kinds of them, despite all sharing a common structure there are regional as well as functional differences. One good place to observe this was at the annual Isezakicho omikoshi parade in Yokohama City, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south west of Tokyo. There were a total of 18 different omikoshi at the parade, all pulled from different shrines in the area, showing both of the most common variants of omikoshi, the Nitenbo and the Yontenbo. Ni and Yon are figures, denoting the number of poles that the omikoshi is carried with. The one most common to the south of Tokyo are the Nitenbo, with two long slender poles supporting the omikoshi. The poles are made of wood, so they tend to spring quite a bit during the rhythmic carrying, making the omikoshi almost move in sympathy! Since there are only two parallel poles, it is also easy to tip the omikoshi left and right for extra effect! Another good thing is that these omikoshi are good at turning corners and are relatively fast moving, and very very easy assemble. The first few photos are of these Nitenbo.

The other, and the most common variant in all of Japan, are the Yontenbo, the four pole omikoshi. Four poles are very useful when you want more people to shoulder the burden of these omikosi which can often weigh up half a ton or more. With four poles you can fit almost twice as many people underneath. These omikoshi are slower and more difficult to maneuver, but they are very useful if you intend to go on for a very long time, usually from dawn till dusk!

The different styles of omikoshi also have different ways of movement, and different chants associated to them. In some cases the chants are quite obvious, while in others the meaning must be lost in the mists of time, even when I ask the omikoshi leaders what they are chanting they just reply “we have no idea”.

The omikoshi can be attached in many different ways. One common method for the Nitenbo is with bolts and nuts, but in this parade you can see that most of them are actually just tied down using wet rope or cloth! While resting the omikoshi are laid onto of stands, often wheeled, which can look very modern (this is practical, stuff, you take what you have!) or very traditional carpenters aids, like the four legged “uma” you can see in some photos, usually two per omikoshi. The uma are more flexible and easier to transport, while the wheeled boxes can be used to store spare parts, cold drinks, batteries or whatever the omikoshi team needs.

Hopefully after this post, you will be able to tell a little bit about the kind of omikoshi you run into when visiting this summer’s many festivals!

Yokohama Sea Taxi

One of the things that makes Yokohama one of the most interesting cities in Japan right now is their great use of the city’s prime oceanfront location. There is a great network of sightseeing boats, cruise ships and sea taxies crisscrossing the harbor and if you feel like you need to save your legs while sight seeing or want to try something else than a train or subway ride back to Yokohama station, then the Sea Taxi might be worth checking out. It is not that much more expensive than other public transportation and certainly cheaper than a normal taxi (although not cheaper than a rental bike or bicycle taxi).

I went on the little Sea Bass, the speediest sea taxi in Yokohama bay to save me from walking all the way back to a station and then get on a train back to Yokohama station. At 580 yen (children half price) the ticket price was not too much, especially considering that the night time view of Yokohama from the ocean is pretty sweet.

The Sea Bass commutes from Yamashita Park – Pier Akarenga – Minatomirai Pukari Sanbashi – Yokohama Station East Exit. On the way you will see all these destinations and more. In the last two decades there has been massive development in this area of Yokohama and I see new buildings every time I pass through, for example several new upscale apartment houses and a brad new commercial center at the east end of Yokohama Station. Well, brand new for me at least! You also get a good view of the Japan Coast Guard ships anchored at harbor and the opportunity to spot a lot of other ships and boats coming into or out of the harbor. In winter this ride was pretty chilly but it is fantastic in summer!

Here is a visitor guide to all the tour boats in Yokohama harbor, and here is the official site of the Sea Bass.

Iseyama Koutai Jingu – Yokohama

The grand Iseyama Koutai Jingu Shrine in Yokohama is one of the most important shrines in Kanagawa Prefecture, but like all shrines associated with Ise, you would not know it from the looks of it. Visually it is one of the most understated shrines in the region and although it is dedicated to the Sun and Star goddess Amaterasu, it was an overcast day in early January when I visited. The Guardian shrine of Yokohama, it was established in 1870 as an offshoot of the national Guardian shrine in Ise. As Yokohama opened to foreign trade there was a need to counteract the growing popularity and influence of Christianity.

In 1928 the shrine main building was destroyed in the massive Kanto Earthquake, but it was rebuilt in the same year.
Trouble did not stop there and today the shrine is also famous for something completely different. In 2002 it became the first shrine ever in Japan to be declared bankrupt. The shrine management ran into financial problems after speculative real estate developments during the Japanese era of the Bubble Economy in the 1980s to 1991. The financial troubles are still ongoing but in the long the shrine will probably survive the yen!

Apart from Amaterasu, the Shrine is also dedicated to Nenookami, the guardian spirit of Noge, the town where the shrine is located and also the place for a rather good zoo (which has no entrance charge!). It is best reached from Sakuragicho station in downtown Yokohama. The shrine is located on the top of a hill and it is quite a walk to get up there. Their official homepage has some nice photos.

On the way down from the shrine I found a plastic velociraptor LEGO toy that some child had dropped. I think he made a fine guardian of the shrine torii (last photo)!

Yokohama – Minato Mirai Ferris Wheel

The outermost edge of Yokohama city, towards the ocean, is known as Minato Moirai. Unlike Tokyo, Yokohama City makes as much use of their waterfront as possible and for the last 30 years the whole area has been under constant development with massive skyscrapers, piers, marinas, amusement parks, museum ships and observation towers, as well as the usual shopping centers. It seems like every year they finish a new part of the area. If you walk from the old Sakuragicho station area toward the harbor it is impossible to miss the giant Cosmo Clock 21, which until 1997 was the world’s tallest ferris wheel. Even though it has been heightened over the years it is still not the tallest in the world or even in Japan, even though its 60 cars bring passengers up to 112.5m height. At night the wheel lights up and functions as a clock, making it the largest clock in the world. It stands on the edge of Cosmo World, which is a comparatively small amusement park built right on the edge of the harbor.