Asakusa Tour Report on May 3, 2017

A big thanks to all the people who participatd in our tour on May 3rd in Asakusa. We welcomed 20 people from  Europe, North America and Australia. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for choosing our tour. The weather was lovely.It was the Constitution Day, a national holiday in Japan and the streets in Asakusa were very crowded with peoople prior to SANJA Matsuri(Festival). I hope all of the participants enjoyed the moment in the old town of Tokyo.

After cherry blossoms have been blown away, the matsuri season will come. During the month of May a number of the traditional matsuri are held througout the country. Among them Asakusa SANJA Matsuri may be most famous and spectacular in Tokyo to be held in mid May (19-21th this year).This is the festival  of Asakusa Shrine where three founders(Sanja) of the Kannon statue of Sensoji Temple are enshrined as Shinto gods.Sanja Festival features about 100 powerful mikoshi, portable shrines in which Shinto gods are symbolically placed and parade the streets to bring good fortune to the local residents.

Mikoshi is decorated with gold sculpture and painted with gold leaf. Each one weighs about 1,000 kilograms carried by approximately 40 people. You may be amazed and excited at the power of those mikoshi and impressed by the hot soul of the Edo currently Tokyo natives. Over a million spectators are to come to Asakusa for three days every year, so I must say all the places are full of people. However if you are around it is worth to come to watch this enjoyable event.

(posted byYoshi)

For our tours,  please check the calendar on our website,facebook and tripadviser.