Before going to Japan, our friend +Lili Florea (aka Muza-Chan) recommended us to attend at least one matsuri. Given our fondness for festivals and all things traditional, we thought it would be an amazing idea, but at the same time we weren’t sure our traveling dates would coincide with any festival.Well, they say there’s always a festival somewhere in Japan, and we actually ended up bumping into four – the Ikebukuro Autumn Festival, the Jidai Matsuri in Kyoto, a street festival in Nagoya and another festival in Arashiyama.
First of all we got lucky by accidentally booking our hotel in Ikebukuro, one of the liveliest and most colorful areas of Tokyo. Second, we happened to be there at the beginning of October, right when the Ikebukuro Autumn Festival was held.We were told this was one of the biggest autumn festivals in Japan, lasting the whole weekend, and involving parades and concerts next to Ikebukuro Station West Exit (the second-busiest railway station in the world, and therefore very much accessible with a JR Pass). Loud music washed the streets and people of all ages dressed in gorgeous costumes danced centuries old rhythms in spite of the light rain. The Japanese autumn festivals are traditionally held to give thanks to the gods for the rice harvest and pray for the well-being of the community.
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Love the pictures, the colors, and the smiles. Great post:)
Everybody was having contagious fun, from little kids to grannies and gramps :)
Hi Laura,
Looks like lots of people have lots of fun:-)
Pinned one of your pictures.
Cheers
Bryan
Thanks Bryan! It's a joy filled festival and Ikebukuro was an even more fun place to be that weekend than usual :)
That's cool to know that Japan witnesses many festivals throughout the year! I think I need to make a space for Japan in my Travel plan!
Japan is an amazing country, very much different from any other countries you might have experienced. I'm sure you would enjoy it very much.
Loving the colors in this post! Glad you caught this stunning festival, I would have loved to be there too.
Well, the good news is that the autumn festival is held every year, so maybe you can go next year :)
Very beautiful photographs and loevly colorful constumes as well!
Thank you, Raji. The dances they performed were very interesting too. Not what we expected, for sure!
This looks so cool! I love all the bright colored kimonos!!
They are awesome, right?
That's so cool! Looking forward to going to Japan and stumbling on an odd festival like this!
The Japanese festivals are pretty different from the European ones. I'm sure you will have tons of fun attending one :)
Just left a message but I don't think it took.
Gorgeous photos! I'm so envious that you got to experience one of Japan's festivals. I went recently, but not during festival time. I hope someday to see some of this.
We were afraid we won't get to see any matsuri either, but I guess we were lucky in the end. Japan is a wonderful country to revisit, maybe next time you will stumble upon a festival just like we did ;)
The Ikebukuro autumn festival is my favorite festival in Tokyo!
So cool you guys got to see one of the biggest autumn festivals in Japan! Love Tokyo!