Tokyojidaimatsuri, Asakusa

On November 3, Tokyo-jidai-matsuri is held at Asakusa. This festival is a costume parade showing good old days in Edo (=Tokyo). A lot of people from kindergarteners to the elderly people over 90 years old participate in the parade. Most of them seem to participate every year. The parade starts at the back yard of Sensoji Temple and make its way along the main street. It takes three hours.

I paid 1000 yen to enter the event site at the back yard. I could take pictures of many participants in various costumes.

(Music performed by traditional instruments)

(Troops of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu)

(Geishas)

(Newsboy and Street Seller of Masks)

Early Summer of Suigo (Water Village)

In Kanto Region there is the Tone River whose basin area is the largest in Japan. The border area between Chiba and Ibaragi prefectures is called “Suigo” and has a wide paddy field zone. In Edo period the area flourished in water transport connecting Tohoku Region and Edo. A boat called “Sappa-bune” used to be an intra-regional transport means for the people. Also at marriage, they used to pole a boat.
In Sawara Aquatic Botanical Garden, they recreate the marriage boat in the iris season. A couple chosen for this day had a wedding ceremony here, receiving a blessing from a large audience.

(Irises at Aquatic Botanical Garden)

(Marriage Boat)

Sapporo Snow Festival

It was 57th. Amazing! I didn’t know the Snow Festival had started so long ago. I think this is the wisdom of people living in a snow region. It is a positive thinking of enjoying a snowy life.
On my way from school to my home, I used to make dolls and animals by snow. Also in the yard, we used to make a slope and a hut called “kamakura” by snow. That was part of an everyday life in a snow region.

If you would like to know the details of Sapporo Snow Festival, access to the URL below.

http://www.snowfes.com/english/index.html

(Large Snow Statue)

(Live at Snow Statue)

(Excellent! Ice Sculptures at Susukino)