Saint Patrick's Day Parade Motomachi Yokohama 2006

This photo is from 2006 but I am not sure that that was the last time I attended the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Motomachi. Maybe. Anyway, this year the Parade is being held on the 20th of March between 1pm and 4pm. I suggest going a little early rather than a little late as in my experience the parade doesn’t take the three hours and you might just miss out. There will be crowds of people but not so many as to be too uncomfortable or that you won’t be able to see anything.

After the parade you should head over to Benny’s Place for a bit of craic.

The festival is not held in Yokohama but in nearby Yamato City. From Yokohama Station it takes just 21 minutes on the Sotetsu Line. Make sure you take the train heading for Ebina though.

Train Timetable.

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Minato Mirai Yokohama
July 20 — 19:30 to 20:40 Launched from barges off Yamashita Park, the fireworks can best be viewed from Rinko Park, Red Brick Warehouse and Yamashita Park accessible from Minatomirai, Bashamichi and Nippon-Odori stations on the Minatomirai Line or if you don’t mind walking a little, the JR Sakuragicho Station.

Number of fireworks: 6,000

Kanagawa Shimbun, Yokohama

Aug. 1 — 19:15 to 20:30 At Rinko Park near Minatomirai Station on the Minatomirai Line.

Number of fireworks: 8,000

Tsurumi River, Yokohama

Aug. 23 — from 19:30 At Tsukuno Park near Tsurumi Station on the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line.

Number of fireworks: 1,000

Kanazawa, Yokohama

Aug. 23 — 19:00-20:00 At Umi-no-Koen (Sea Park) in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama, near Umi-no-Koen Shiba-Guchi, Umi-no-Koen Minami-Guchi and Nippon-Odori stations on the Seaside Line.

Number of fireworks: 3,500

You will be able to see five or six kites measuring up to and over 14 metres squared and weighing almost a ton take flight by the banks of the Sagami river. Its quite an amazing sight and it takes many men to control them. The kites are all handmade in the traditional style using bamboo for the framework and some pretty sturdy japanese paper as material. At the end of the festival the largest of the kites is set afire.

This festival has been held since 1830 and while there are many such festivals around Japan this one is famous for the sheer size of the kites.

How to get there
From Yokohama Station, take the Sotetsu Line to Ebina Station and then change to the JR Sagami Line to Sobudaishita Station. It should take less than 60 minutes including transfer. From Sobudaishita you can either take the shuttle bus or walk for about 20 minutes. Just follow the crowd.
Train timetables.

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The Kanamara Festival is held near Kawasaki Daishi Station on the first Sunday of April. The small procession of mikoshi (portable shrine) starts off at Kaneyama Shrine (aka Wakamiya Hachimangu) and beats its baudy path through the smaller streets of the neighborhood. During the festival you’ll be able to see all shapes and sizes of phallic objects, from giant statues being carried by middle-aged men in drag to small candies being licked by pretty young ladies. There are even people displaying daikon (japanese radish) carved in great detail to resemble…well…a picture tells a thousand words.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that this festival is celebrating the penis for in a way it is – a steel penis. The legend goes that there was a demon living in the vaginas of the women in this area and a local metal-smith forged a steel phallus which broke the demons teeth and thus ridding the town of it forever. This legend was mostly wishful thinking on the part of the locals, many of whom had caught venereal diseases from the prostitutes that were common in this area in the Edo Period (1603-1867), during which this festival began. Even today Kawasaki is famous for its red-light district.

Well, I did a bit of research about this and have attended the festival. The festival was originally a fertility festival and the locals would attend to ensure they would have plenty of healthy children. This was a pretty common pagan ritual all over Japan and indeed it is still lightheartedly carried out in many towns. The purpose for the festival as for most of the local festivals was to generate income/trade for the towns people and religious people.
Later this particular areas festival evolved as this area became a red-light district and venereal diseases became common. Then the legend about the iron penis was formed and the festival got its current name. And as with many festivals it continued to this day even though people no longer believe the legends.
It is also true that most people in Japan don’t know about this festival. In fact most people in Tokyo or Yokohama, cities that are part of the same urban conurbation as Kawasaki have more than likely never heard of such an event.
I have attended many festivals in this area and I have never seen so many foreigners as I have at this one. In fact aside from the JLPT I have never seen so many foreigners in one place as I have at this festival. There are many Japanese people there but I think they have the same curiosity as us. One elderly Japanese lady told me of her experience one day when she wanted to visit Kawasaki Daishi and came across this scene. She was embarrassedly describing the scene to me when I suddenly realized that I had been there taking photos. Oh she laughed.

How to get there
From Yokohama Station, take the Keikyu Line to Keikyu Kawasaki Station and then change to the Keikyu Daishi Line to Keikyu Kawasaki Daishi Station. It should take about 25 minutes including transfer. For train timetables and prices click here.