Summer Festivals: Dancing at the Fish Market (sort of) |singlerockworld A Japan travel blog

I wanted to write this post for so long, but work was piling up so this post was delayed. Actually, I wanted to write about the Obon festival here in Japan. As you know, July and August are the season of festivals. Starting with the Tanabata festival in early July, fireworks festival in mid-July till Aug and the Obon festival in August, the whole of Japan is bursting with nights filled with traditional folk dance, food stalls and lots of dancing going around accompanied by folk music.

As you may already know, Obon festival is a Buddhist-originated festival when the souls of their ancestor return home. The idea of death in many cultures that are influenced by Buddhism is different from the idea of death in the Western culture. In these cultures, many believe that the soul lives on even after the death of its physical being. And Obon is the time for families are supposed to pay tribute to their ancestor. This is the time you will see families doing some sombre tasks of cleaning the graves and make offerings to their ancestors.

But the not-so-sombre moments also happen during the Obon. This is also the time when everybody gathers together to dance around a temporary yagura tower with the traditional music. Usually these festivals are held in the evening when everybody comes out to enjoy the summer evening breeze, which lends the word of noryo (納涼), which literally translated it as 'evening cool'. This word is sometimes reflected in the name of the festival such as the Tsukiji Honganji Temple Noryo Bon-Odori (築地本願寺納涼盆踊り).

So, here I am, enjoying my evening cool time in the Tsukiji Honganji Temple, watching the Bon-Odori festival. The Tsukiji Honganji Bon Odori is known to be one of the more established Obon festivals in Tokyo.

Still empty

But you can see that people are already there to book a table for the evening

From the exterior, you will notice the architectural design of Tsukiji Honganji Temple is different from the other temples in Japan. That is because Tsukiji Honganji Temple is an Indian-inspired Buddhist temple. The current building of Tsukiji Honganji Temple is rebuilt after the original one located in Asakusa got burnt down in a fire. It is also endowed with a big space which is rare for a temple in the space-starved Tokyo. I guess that is why this place is chosen to hold the Bon-Odori festival here.

It began with drum or taiko beating session. By 4pm, the temple is literally crawling with people, this is still a small crowd. People come here earlier to reserve a seat in front of the stage. There are lots of food stalls, called the yatai, which sells usual street food such as the buttered potatoes, corn on the cob, kakigori (shaved ice with syrup), yakisoba (fried noodles) and many other delicious foods which you should try it in person.

Strong and muscular taiko performers

As the hour draws nearer to the starting time of the Bon-Odori festival at around 7pm, you can see the crowd will slowly build up. Even with the crowd, the generous space of this temple made a difference. I can still vouch on my claustrophic bones that even with the big crowd, it still manages to feel pleasant and lively at the same time. This event has a really good atmosphere compared to some of the Bon-Odori festivals I have been to. I believe the generous space of this temple made a difference and that it allows big crowd of people without feeling the squeeze.

At 7pm, the Bon-Odori festival officially starts. A group of dancers will be up on the yagura tower, dancing to the traditional music. I guess they are there to guide the crowd on how to dance. The nicest thing about Bon-Odori festival is that ANYBODY can join in the dance! Most of the dance steps look simple enough but I did not try it. Mainly because I have my bulky DLSR with me. But I'd love to try it some time soon though. May have to leave the camera at home ^^.

The crowd before the festival starts

There are plenty of tables with seats and stalls to fill your stomach. Come early if you want to find a seat with a good view of the festival. The Tsukiji Honganji Temple's Bon-Odori is spread over four evenings.

If you have one chance to watch the Bon-Odori festival, then, you should watch it at the Tsukiji Honganji Temple. Don't forget to wear your yukata (summer kimono) for this special occasion! I promised you that you won't regret it.

If you love participating in local festivals, then, you should be in Japan for a summer. But if you are planning your trip to Japan during the Obon period, please take note that this is the time of summer vacation for the Japanese people so there is lots of travelling going around. Highways are always full. The rate of road accidents is higher than usual, causing lots of traffic jams. It is not exactly a fun time to travel. But it will worth the inconvenience.

Date of the event (in 2014. It might be best to check the website)

July 30-August 1, 7pm-9pm; August 2, 6pm-8.30pm

How to get there

Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple is one minute walk from the subway Tsukiji Station on Hibiya Line. Go to: exit 1for the nearest access.

Or you can walk for 5-minutes from the Shintomicho Station on Yurakucho Line, the Higashi-Ginza Station on Asakusa Line and the Tsukiji-shijyou Station on Toei Oedo Line.

Location and Website

Address: 3-15-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

http://tsukijihongwanji.jp/tsukiji/index_e.html (in Japanese)

http://www.tsukijihongwanji.jp/eng/?fr=navi (in English)