Mitama Matsuri
The Mitama Matsuri (also known as the Soul Festival) was held at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo from July 13-16, 2008.
This festival is famous for its thousands of lighted lanterns.
A very large festival, it attracts a big crowd every year.
Mikoshis (portable shrines) were enthusiastically carried by the local towns people in colorful happi coats.
Bon odori dancing was held in the evening.
The haunted house was a very popular attraction.
As with most Japanese festivals, there were plenty of stall games such as fish scooping …
… and of course, lots of food and drink stalls, with many people enjoying traditional food and consuming mass quantities of beer.
See also TokyoFive’s blog post about this event.
Thanks for the link again.
Did you see the Nebuta floats?
At the Mitama Festival it’s a rare chance to see them in Tokyo every year.
Nebuta is a famous Aomori Pref. event.
Unfortunately, I did not see the Nebuta floats, maybe next year if we are still here.
I forgot to say…
I saw the Nebuta Floats and dancers at this year’s festival…but I didn’t take a photo of them.
I did last year though:
http://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/mitama-matsuri/
Pingback: Year In Review: Festivals « Konnichiwa
Pingback: Photo of the Day: Girls Carrying a Mikoshi | Konnichiwa
Pingback: Photo of the Day: Yellow Lanterns | Konnichiwa
Pingback: Photo of the Day: Through the Gates | Konnichiwa