Shirasaginomai – White Egret Dance
Twice a year at Asakusa’s famous Sensoji temple an old ceremony of dancers dressed as white egrets or herons take place, once in April and once in November. The ceremony is called Shirasaginomai (白鷺の舞)...
View ArticleAsakusa Geisha
At the annual Oiran and Geisha parade in Tokyo’s Asakusa district I took this photo of one of the retainers. She and her colleagues played their part perfectly, in purple-blue kimono and very strict...
View ArticleAsakusa Denpoin Gardens – Tokyo’s Hidden Gem
From the blog of Janelle Patrick I learned about Denpoin, the big quiet, brooding temple right next to the much more famous Sensoji in Asakusa. After all these years in Tokyo I had never done more than...
View ArticleMore Shirasaginomai Dancers
More photos from the white egret dancers – the shirasaginomai (白鷺の舞) at Asakusa’s Sensoji last weekend. During the ceremony one of the participants throw confetti in the air. I didn’t manage to catch...
View ArticleAsakusa Oiran Parade
A couple of weeks ago I saw these two wonderfully dressed up girls taking part in the annual oiran parade in Tokyo’s Asakusa district. You might remember my post about the much bigger oiran parade in...
View ArticleAsakusa Shirasaginomai Parade
At the Shirasaginomai, White Egret Dance, in Tokyo’s Asakusa district last month I saw these adorable little pre-schoolers taking part in the pre-ceremony parade. The kids were followed by adults in...
View ArticleAsakusa Sanja Matsuri Dog
Starting on Friday and ending in the grand finale on Sunday, today, is the huge Sanja Matsuri, probably the biggest festival in Tokyo. Among all the hundreds of thousands (actually about 2 million...
View ArticleAsakusa Shrine – Sanja Festival
The weekend saw one of the biggest festivals in Japan, Asakusa’s famous Sanja Matsuri. From Friday to Sunday, early morning to late night hundreds of omikoshi, portable shrines, criss cross the streets...
View ArticleNougaku – Asakusa Shrine
Nougaku, or Noh for short, is one of the original art forms of Japan. Even today, living in Tokyo I get to see a few performances every year. This one was held at Asakusa Shrine just next to the famous...
View ArticleSanja Festival From Above – Asakusa
It’s not very new anymore but I still make a point to go up to the top floor every time I pass, the new tourist information building in front of Asakusa’s famous Kaminarimon, the entrance gate to the...
View ArticleDenki Bran – Classic Brandy
When Japan opened up to the Western world in the end of the 1860′s, it didn’t take long for western things, customs and manners to be adopted by the Japanese. One such thing was the concept of a bar....
View ArticleSanja Matsuri – Festival Cat
I couldn’t help myself sneaking a photo of of this cat sleeping on the shoulder of one of the many people out to enjoy the huge Sanja Matsuri about a month ago. He seemed to be snoozing just well up...
View ArticleFox Dancing – Kitsunemai
One of the many colorful traditions to come out of the back streets of old Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district was the Kitsunemai (狐舞ひ), fox dancing. Yoshiwara was the premier red light district of Japan’s...
View ArticleAsakusa Sagimai Parade – Sensoji Temple
I still haven’t shared 1% of the photos I took of the twice (or thrice actually) annual Sagimai dance ritual in Asakusa’s Sensoji temple earlier this year. As part of one of their three performances...
View ArticleSanja Matsuri Omikoshi Scrum
There’s festivals, and then there’s The Festival with a capital F, the biggest and happiest traditional festival in Japan is the massive Sanja Matsuri held in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa district every...
View ArticleSensoji Temple – Tourounagashi
Last night was the annual Tourounagashi (灯篭流し) ceremony at the huge Sensoji temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa district. It takes place during Obon, which is the traditional time for Japanese people to tend...
View ArticleBunny Cafe – Asakusa
I have visited a couple of cat cafes and even a dog cafe or two here in Tokyo but this bunny cafe in Tokyo’s premier tourist district Asakusa was a new one for me! Ms. Bunny (apparently there is also a...
View ArticleWhen Touristing in Tokyo – Asakusa
If I have to rank the many tourist destinations in Tokyo and give you the place that should be on the top list of any tourist with the ambition to see Tokyo, it is easily the Asakusa district. I have...
View ArticleAsakusa Geisha – Sanja Festival
One of the most enduring images of Japan, at least in the minds of westerners, is the geisha. Few other professions have reached such a mythological status as the geisha. They were the most refined...
View ArticleGreeting the New Year – Asakusa
There were plenty of New Year’s parties and celebrations going on in Tokyo as the clock struck twelve, but the activity that drags most people out on the cold streets are the traditional shrine or...
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