Hanazono Shrine & Festival
A festival this weekend at the Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku. From tokyo tourism website, "Hanazono Jinja is the grand tutelary shrine of Shinjuku, the town that has been thriving for over 300 years developed as a station on the Koshu-kaido route. The annual festival used to be held on the fair of Inari Jinja (Inari is a messenger of gods, symbolized by the fox), however the dates became fixed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday closest to May 28th since 1976. The main feature is the parade of magnificent miniature shrine of 1.1 meters in width and 3 meters in height, carrying Shinto festival music performers on the base, topped with the decoration of a lion’s head. Starting from Hanazono shrine, the parade proceeds along Yasukuni Street, Shinjuku Street and Meiji Street, passed over by shrine parishioners in the neighborhood association consisting of eight blocks. Ceremonious, yet vigorous, the traditional festival shows us another aspect of Shinjuku metropolis."



500Yen bags of cotton candy. But they are decorated to attract the kiddos, huh?

A kabuki style play... From japan-guide.com, "Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of theater with its origins in the Edo period. Kabuki, in contrast to the older surviving Japanese art forms such as No, was the popular culture of the townspeople and not of the higher social classes. Kabuki plays are about historical events, moral conflicts in love relationships and the like. The actors use an old fashioned language which is difficult to understand even for some Japanese people. They speak in a monotonous voice and are accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments."


For 300Yen, Andrew scooped rubber bouncy balls into a cup, then the vendor dropped them into a handy little carrying bag. $3 for some rubber bouncy balls. The things we do for kids.

A crafter carves and paints candy animals with great skill. These look so good!


Chocolate covered bananas! We got the pink one with sprinkles and it was yummy. Much better tasting than the ones we got in Asakusa, which were very waxy in taste.



More "Engrish" signs spotted today... What do YOU think they were trying to say in the sign on the red post?


Andrew makes a wish and drops in money at the Hanazono Shrine.


Yep, that looks like dried salted fish on a stick. Errr, yum?




500Yen bags of cotton candy. But they are decorated to attract the kiddos, huh?

A kabuki style play... From japan-guide.com, "Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of theater with its origins in the Edo period. Kabuki, in contrast to the older surviving Japanese art forms such as No, was the popular culture of the townspeople and not of the higher social classes. Kabuki plays are about historical events, moral conflicts in love relationships and the like. The actors use an old fashioned language which is difficult to understand even for some Japanese people. They speak in a monotonous voice and are accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments."


For 300Yen, Andrew scooped rubber bouncy balls into a cup, then the vendor dropped them into a handy little carrying bag. $3 for some rubber bouncy balls. The things we do for kids.

A crafter carves and paints candy animals with great skill. These look so good!


Chocolate covered bananas! We got the pink one with sprinkles and it was yummy. Much better tasting than the ones we got in Asakusa, which were very waxy in taste.



More "Engrish" signs spotted today... What do YOU think they were trying to say in the sign on the red post?


Andrew makes a wish and drops in money at the Hanazono Shrine.


Yep, that looks like dried salted fish on a stick. Errr, yum?

<< Home