Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Yokohama 2010

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.

Kanamara Matsuri Photo Gallery (2006)

These photos were taken on April 1st, 2006 when my camera was getting repaired and the lens of the camera I was using here was a little dirty so that is why some of the images look a little washed out in places. Don’t know what going on in these photos? Check out this post on the Kanamara Matsuri.

Flower Art Festival Gallery

We at Yokohama Living went over to the Nihon Odori Flower Art Festival that was held over the weekend to take some photos for those of you who weren’t able to attend. It was nice but I was a little disappointed. I don’t know what I was expecting but I know I was expecting something more. The petals of the flowers seemed to have been placed on what amounts to a great big coloring book and for the most part they kept within the lines. It was windy though and I also felt that some of the art wasn’t finished. It was also difficult to get a good view as we had to look at the flower art from the side mostly so it was difficult to get a good angle when shooting. Well, check them out for yourself.

Nihon Odori Flower Art Festival

From May 2nd to May 4th this year the Nihon Odori Flower Art Festival will be held in Nihon Odori (of course). Nihon Odori Avenue will be covered in beautiful art created from flower petals. You can check out the official website to get a better idea of what to expect. It’s all in Japanese but if you check out the Pre-Event page you’ll get a good idea about what is going down.

Preparation for the Nihon Odori Flower Art Festival

Red Brick Festival

The Red Brick Festival is being held down at the Red Brick Warehouses also known as Akarenga near Sakuragicho in Yokohama. Actually it has already started and I have even attended a little bit of it. The ice cream part. I took some photos of the cool and crazy ice creams that are on offer and to be honest the choice of flavors is amazing. And I chose the word carefully too because you ought to be amazed that they sell ice cream with flavors such as cow tongue, caviar, garlic, eel and wasabi. (See gallery below for more.) The one that attracted me most though was the stretching Turkish ice cream which I quickly ordered really hoping just to see it stretch. It didn’t stretch though and the flavor was a pretty standard vanilla. No complaints there. I didn’t try the other ice creams not because I was nervous about the strange flavor but just because I didn’t want to ruin my appetite.

There are a few other events at this festival including, I believe, some salsa and samba performances. You can find some information (in Japanese) on the Akarenga web site. It runs from July 25th to August 10th.

Photo Gallery: Yamato Awa Odori 2005

The Yamato Awa Odori is going to be held next weekend with some performances on Friday but most of the street festivities on Saturday and Sunday. I have attended this festival twice and this is a photo gallery from the first time in 2005. The Awa Odori is a very lively and fun festival so if you get a chance I highly recommend goiing to see one.

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.

Sagami Odako Matsuri

The Sagami Giant Kite Festival is held in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture during golden week. It is usually held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 5th and 6th. O-Dako loosely translates as large kite. There are many kite festivals held throughout Japan but this is one of the more spectacular ones.

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.

2006 Aomori Nebuta Photo Gallery

It’s hard to believe it has been nearly two years since I went to the Nebuta Matsuri in Aomori. I remember it was extremely hot and we stayed one night in a tent and woke up at about 5AM with sweat poring off me. The Nebuta Festival in Aomori is definitely one of the most impressive festivals I have been to in Japan and I have been to a few. While I was there I went to another Nebuta Festival in a nearby town which has the tallest Nebuta in the world. What is a Nebuta? They are these gigantic lanterns that are pulled or carried during some festivals in Japan. Aomori is the biggest of the Nebuta Festivals.

Kanamara Festival

Below you can find an amalgamation of posts I had made regarding the Kanamara Festival which will be held in Kawasaki this weekend I believe. I will post a couple of photo galleries in here in the future but if you can’t wait you can find one gallery over at deadhippo.com at the time of posting.

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.