Back In June
Trip Start
Jul 22, 2006
1
11
59
Trip End
Aug 15, 2010
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Tokyo, Japan
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Back in June was the big neighbourhood festival in Asakusa. The
main event of the festival was that the portable shrine (called
mikoshi) from each small shrine or temple was carried to Senso-ji, the
great big temple 'round these parts. Each mikoshi was carried
into the temple grounds: as a result, the temple grounds were a sea of
people with the golden phoenix toppers of the mikoshi glinting in the
sun. On top of the mikoshi-bearers and their entourages, there
were all the tourists who'd come to see them, and all the food vendors
who'd set up shop there for the weekend. The arrival of each new
mikoshi meant a new surge of singing, stomping and clapping from the
new group, probably to help the bearers move together, as most of them
seemed to be at least mostly drunk by noon. Even the children had
their own mini-mikoshi to carry!
The festivities were not limited to the temple environs, as various
mikoshi-carrying groups stakes out parking lots and other spaces
throughout the neighbourhood, sitting down for snacks and drinks.
Late in the afternoon, I came across a very jolly crowd completely
blocking an intersection, shouting and dancing and hefting their
mikoshi left, then right, then front, then back. Rather
unsteadily.
Comments
Le Japon
Bonjour Marie-Adèle!
Enfin, une connection Internet rapide! -je suis au Canada jusqu'au 9 août.
Dis donc, tu as l'air de bien t'amuser au Japon! Comment trouves-tu la vie diplomatique? As-tu un emploi?
Curtis et moi songeons à une affectation prochaine au Japon...Donc j'aimerais bien avoir tes suggestions, commentaires et autre concernant la vie là-bas.
Si tu as deux minutes, donne m'en un aperçu -du point de vue vie diplomatique, bien entendu.
En attendant, je vais continuer de me délecter de tes aventures au pays du soleil levant!
Salut!
Annabelle