Asakusa sanja festival

Asakusa sanja festival (淺草 三社祭り)

 

Under the warm May sunshine, I went to Asakusa (淺草) to see the Sanja Matsuri (三社祭り). Asakusa's Sanja Matsuri 

is one of Tokyo's three major festivals, along with the Kanda Matsuri and the Sanno Matsuri. The Sanja Matsuri is like a local town festival for the Asakusa area, starting on the third Friday of May and ending on Sunday. Many omikoshi (portable shrines) participate, and it's famous for its intense energy. About 100 omikoshi take part in the festival.

 

Kaminarimon (雷門), the famous Thunder Gate that many people visit when they travel to Tokyo. The path leading to Senso-ji Temple starts here. Today, the lantern with '雷門' written on it is folded up a bit more than usual to allow the procession of omikoshi (portable shrines) to pass through.

 

The walk from Asakusabashi Station to Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa was relatively quiet. However, when we reached 

the famous Kaminarimon (雷門), the crowd was unbelievably huge. I had heard it would be crowded, but this 

was on another level. We somehow managed to meet up at Kaminarimon and started heading towards Senso-ji. 

The first 50 meters or so were manageable. We even bought some dango (sweet rice dumplings) and had refreshing matcha (powdered green tea) along the way. But after a while, the line barely moved. Eventually, I wasn't walking by my own will anymore; I was just being pushed around by the crowd. I even got a little scared wondering if an accident might happen. And sure enough, when I got home and watched the news, I heard that several people were injured. We were finally pushed and shoved into the Senso-ji temple grounds, where an incredible number of food stalls had set up shop.

 

There are also these portable shrines that people ride in

 

And here are the original omikoshi (神輿). This particular omikoshi is carried only by women.

 

Just look at those expressions! Everyone was really into it.

 

There are many men wearing these rather revealing fundoshi loincloths.

 

too crowded

 

a nice looking Omikoshi

 

finally arrived at Sensoji temple

 

too many were in the temple.

 

i decided to go out. but it was not easy either.

 

The five-storied pagoda of Senso-ji Temple.

 

Today, the lantern at Senso-ji's Kaminarimon is specially folded up

 

 

 

Goldfish scooping game.

 

 

Grilled sausage.

 

There were also many kinds of food being sold, like various seafood, okonomiyaki (savory pancake), takoyaki (octopus balls), yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), and more.