Sanja Matsuri is also known as the Festival of Asakusa Shrine. It is the most flamboyant and among the biggest,liveliest festivals in Japan. I would equate the Sanja Matsuri to Mardi Gras because of the similarities - half naked people parades all over the place. It’s really one of the most exciting and mind opening experience to go to a Sanja Matsuri. It is in this festivals that the Geishas and Yakuzas come out to play. It’s a festival dedicated to them almost. You will see men with tattooed bodies parading, geisha’s performing their dances.
The festival pulls over 1.5million people to celebrate together. It is definitely going to be sweaty so you have a lot of reasons to join the crowd to take off your clothes but only if you are a guy of course. I don’t know if girls are allowed to, unlike in Brazil or Costa Rica or …you know, where Mardi Gras is celebrated :P
So the festival starts with a lot of procession, that goes through many districts in Tokyo to the Asakusa Shrine. A little history about it is that 3 fisherman found a statue of a deity, which is now placed in Asakusa shrine, in their fishing nets one day and they have been revered ever since. The festival is an ongoing 3 day celebration too, you can imagine that it is a non-stop entertainment and fun and with all the colorful characters around you’ll be stoke to find that this is certainly a deviation from the normal reserve Japanese culture.
I would SO like to go see it. Anyone wants to buy me a ticket for next year? :P
Kawagoe is known for it fleet of kurazukuri style warehouse buildings on it main street. This historical town is an easy excursion from Tokyo for a day trip or two. It is just half an hour north west from Ikebukuro, Tokyo’s city center.
The city is known locally as “Little Edo”, or Koedo (小江戸), after the old name for Tokyo, “Edo”. Prominent sites in Kawagoe include the bell tower as seen in the picture to the right. The bell tower serves as the symbol for Koedo and rings three times a day. Other sites include the 500 statues of Rakan and Kitain Temple, the gathering-spot for New Year celebrations. As it approaches midnight on December 31, waits of nearly three hours are commonplace at the temple.
Kawagoe is famous for its sweet potatoes, and on the local “Candy Street” one can find such treats as sweet potato chips, sweet potato ice cream, sweet potato coffee, and even sweet potato beer, brewed at the local Koedo Brewery.
Nihon Minka-en (日本民家園, Nihon Minka-en) is a park in the Ikuta Ryokuchi (生田緑地, Ikuta Ryokuchi) Park of Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. On display in the park is a collection of 20 traditional minka (民家, minka) (farm houses) from various parts of Japan, especially thatched-roofed houses from eastern Japan. Of these, nine have received the designation of Important Cultural Assets from the national government. The houses are varied, and include examples from regions of heavy snow, lodgings for travellers, and a theatrical stage. Visitors can see regional variety and differences in construction.
If you’re looking to getaway from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Japan this is the place to go. Things like feeling the green grass on your toes, fresh air, historical houses that reminisce of the times before Tokyo was filled with skyscrapers and huge electrical poles are what you can expect at Nihon Minka-en. You can just simply immerse yourself in the life of what once was - simple and beautiful.
The park is operated by the city of Kawasaki. Admission is free to visitors of junior-high-school age and under. The entrance is a fifteen-minute walk from Mukogaoka-Yuen Station on the Odakyu Odawara Line.
For more information visit their WEBSITE: Nihon Minka-en
When you go to Japan, you must attend a Sumo match because it’s a traditional japanese sport. Baseball may be big in Japan but Sumo Wrestlers are bigger, literally and figuratively. :)
The sport is surrounded by ceremony and ritual. The Japanese consider Sumo a gendai budō: a modern Japanese martial art, even though the sport has a history spanning many centuries.
The Sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt for purification, from the days Sumo was used in the Shinto religion.
Sumo Wrestling
The basic rule of Sumo is very simple; the first sumo that touches the floor with something else apart from his sole or leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. The fights usually last about a few seconds and its very rare for it to last for up to 1 min or longer.
Six tournaments are held each year and each tournament lasts 15 days. I don’t know how many fights go on in one day with each fight lasting a few seconds. I think they must be many fights but there are also the traditional rituals held before and after a match as well. It’s definitely something that’s worth experiencing.
Three of the 15 tournaments is held in Tokyo (Jan, May, Sept), and one each in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (November).
Tokyo Disneyland is the first Disneyland built outside of the US on the April 15, 1983, located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. The park was constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering in the same style as Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. It, along with its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not owned by The Walt Disney Company.
There are seven themed areas, each complementing each other yet unique in their style. Made up of the World Bazaar, the four classic Disney lands: Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and two mini lands, Critter Country and Mickey’s Toontown, the park is noted for its huge open spaces to accommodate the massive crowds the park receives on even moderate attendance days - Tokyo Disneyland was, up until three years ago, the single most visited theme park in the world, and its sister Tokyo DisneySea was the second.
Tokyo Disneyland will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary on the year 2008! Be sure to try to get there and as a Disney traditions would have it, it’s going to be real spectacular. It is my dream to visit Disneyland really and I am not a kid anymore :( Oh well…who says, Disneyland is for kids only? :)
Tokyo Disneyland is accessible by car or JR Keiyo Line, Maihama Station. Entry is 5800 Yen (on Oct., 2006) for one park and 10000 Yen for 2 days (2 parks).
The Yasukuni Shrine is most famous for it’s controversy. It’s not a particularly striking or beautiful shrine otherwise - the Meiji Shrine or Senso-ji in Asakusa are much more famous and popular.
It is a Shinto Shrine originally built by the Emperor Meiji in 1869 to commemorate the soldiers who died in the Boshin War. Since then, it’s dedication has grown to include all those who died fighting for the Emperor.
That includes about 1,000 people who were convicted of war crimes after World War II, 14 of which were Class A criminals. This is the controversial bit. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and a few other high level politicians visited the shrine on a few occassions to pay their respects to the war dead and both China and South Korea protested this, because it seems to show that Japan is proud of it’s militaristic and right-wing nationalistic past.
Both Emperors Hirohito and Akihito did not visit the shrine after it was revealed that the 14 Class A war criminals were interred there, which is ironic, given that the soldiers were fighting for the Emperor. Perhaps not as ironic as the meaning of the name Yasukuni though: Peaceful Nation.
It isn’t too far from the Imperial Palace and the historic Tokyo train station, so if you stop to see either, consider adding Yasukuni Shrine to your trip.
The Imperial Palace in Tokyo is an oasis of calm and greenery in the middle of skyscrapers and business districts. Known as Kokyo, the area was apparently worth as much as the entire state of California during the bubble economy years.
It was originally Edo Castle, the home of the Tokugawa Shogunate but was taken over by the emperor when the Restoration happened in the late 1800s. Ever since, it has been the home to the Emperor and his family.
As such, it is mostly out of bounds, but people can walk around the Eastern gardens and people are permitted to enter the palace during the New Year (January 2nd) and on the Emperor’s birthday (December 23rd).
The palace, like many buildings in Japan, was destroyed by bombing in World War II. What stands today is a faithful recreation completed in the 60’s.
It’s a short walk from the historic Tokyo train station, so it’s worth visiting the area for all the historical buildings (including the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which I’ll cover in the next post).
Tokyo Tower is one of the stand-out features of the Tokyo skyline. It looks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris but is in fact 9 metres taller - while being over 300 tonnes lighter.
..Hah, there’s an example of how Japan takes things from around the world and remakes them to be better, cheaper and more efficient.
It’s been painted bright orange and white as an air traffic safety precaution but I really wonder if it needs it? Oh well, at least it stands out.
There seems to be a lot of, well, not exactly hatred of the Tower, but foreigners living in Tokyo in particular seem to just roll their eyes at it. I don’t know why, I kinda like it. It’s also the tallest structure in Japan so on a clear day tyou’d have a great view from the top.
Unlike the Eiffel Tower, there is a building as part of the structure which house, among other things, an aquarium, art gallery and even a wax museum. It can be very crowded though and there have been hundreds-of-metres-long queues to get in, particularly on public holidays. It costs upwards of 800 yen for an adult to get to the observation deck.
You could probably spend the whole day there, if you visited all of the attractions. It’s not too expensive and you would have an idea place to watch the sunset.
The Cherry Blossom Festival is perhaps the most well known festival in relation to Japan. Tourist from all over the world would visit Japan especially during this period to enjoy Cherry Blossom hanami. The festival is held all over Japan and viewing can start between January to April each year and depending on which part of Japan you’re in. One place that you can go to is the Ueno Onsji park in Tokyo. It is one of the more popular parks visited during this season. Every year you will see the park is filled with people picnicking under those beautiful cherry blossom trees - it’s like a celebration for the beautiful flowers above. Among various food people eat in cherry blossom viewing,dango is very popular. It is a chewy snack made of rice flour.
Cherry blossom viewing has been a Japanese custom since the 7th century when aristocrats enjoyed viewing blossoms and started to write poems about them. That is perhaps the beauty and magical qualities of the Cherry Blossom Festival - everything is just so surreal and beautiful, as though you’re in a dream. As just as it is just a dream, the cherry blossom’s life span is short lived - making its appearance highly appreciated year by year. In short, the cherry blossom is like a metaphor to Life in Japan. The budding, the brief, brilliant bloom and the inevitable fall seems too much like the lifespan of a human being. I guess it makes you realize that life is short and that beautiful is as beautiful is at this very moment before it is lost forever.
The radiance of cherry blossoms, their scent,
Ever fresh with every passing year -
So man grow old, eternally.
- Ki no Tomonori – Kokinshu 84, Cherry Blossom in Heian Waka poetry.
Pictures taken from Japan Lifestyle and Japan Guide
K’s House is a chain of backpacker hostels in Japan. They started out in November, 2003 in Kyoto (which has perhaps the highest concentration of backpacker hostels anywhere in Japan) and have since opened hostels in Nagano prefecture and Tokyo.
The prices are cheap (starting at 2500 yen for a dorm bed in Kyoto, 2800 in Tokyo and Nagano) and the entire hostel has a very modern and welcoming atmosphere. Features in all hostels include:
Communal living and dining room
A well-equipped communal kitchen
Internet, laundry and bicycle hire
Separate bathrooms and toilets
No curfew, English speaking staff and air conditioning in all rooms
No YHA membership required
After staying at the Kyoto hostel numerous times, I can tell you that the place is clean, airy, modern, comfortable and best of all - cheap! The staff are all very friendly and will always try to be helpful. They all speak English reasonably well.
One thing that I found very useful was how the hostel has a room availablity chart online for three months in advance. This is updated daily, and bookings can be made via email.
I highly recommend this place. While I haven’t been to the Tokyo hostel, if it’s anything like Kyoto’s (which was, by the way, voted best hostel in Asia by Hostelworld, an online booking service) then you won’t be disappointed. Besides, 2800 yen for a bed is probably unheard of in Tokyo.
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