TOKYO, Sep 16 (News On Japan) –
Shibuya was engulfed in large crowds on September 14th as folks gathered in entrance of SHIBUYA109, to the purpose the place motion was almost unimaginable. The draw was the Shibuya Konno Hachimangu Annual Festival, a centuries-old celebration held within the coronary heart of town to wish for prosperity and good harvests. It is considered Shibuya’s largest pageant.
Among the 14 mikoshi transportable shrines carried by the streets, youngsters joined adults within the procession. Foreign vacationers caught within the crush expressed confusion, saying, “I had no idea what was happening. I just wanted to go to Don Quijote,” and “It’s just chaos, total chaos. There are too many people, far too many.” Many mentioned they had been shocked to find such a cultural occasion unfolding in a spot higher recognized for its skyscrapers. A customer from Osaka famous, “The energy is incredible. We have danjiri floats in Osaka, but I think carrying the mikoshi has a unique appeal. It’s impressive.”
Osaka was additionally alive with festivities because the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival passed off on September thirteenth and 14th. With greater than 300 years of historical past, the spotlight of the occasion is the spectacle of four-ton floats racing by the streets and making sharp right-angle turns at intersections in a maneuver known as “yarimawashi.”
The momentum of the three-day weekend continued on September fifteenth, when crowds once more packed areas nationwide. Aerial footage confirmed lengthy strains in entrance of the Hachiko statue at Shibuya’s scramble crossing. In Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, Hibiya Park additionally drew enormous strains of individuals. At the entrance of 1 queue was a sales space promoting skirt steak, seasoned with a house-made sauce and priced from 1,200 yen. The “Meat Festival,” that includes 36 distributors, bustled with guests. One attendee mentioned, “I took the day off just to come here. After this, I’ll be ready to face work tomorrow.”
But the vacation concluded with heavy visitors jams. At the Tomei Expressway close to the Atsugi Interchange, automobiles heading towards Tokyo had been already backed up by mid-afternoon, stretching far into the gap. Similar congestion was reported on the Kan-Etsu and Tohoku expressways, the place jams had been forecast to achieve as much as 30 kilometers.
Source: FNN