A Good Chance To See Traditional Festival Stuff in Hachioji

This weekend (July 8th and 9th), the 16th annual Hachioji Summer Market (Natsu-no-Fubutsu Ichi) is being held near JR Hachioji Station. 

Along the Nishi-Hoshasen You Road (laid out from the north exit of JR Hachioji Station ) you can stroll around the Asagao-Ichi (Morning Glory Market) to see stalls selling traditional style wind chimes and local goodies. 

There are more traditional old-days style festival stalls selling goods or food which comes with some entertainment aspect. The entertainment can be fishing small balloons floating on a big tank of water, scooping gold fish from a big fish tank. At traditional candy stalls, people can ask for a candy made into any shape they want as shown in the upper right hand side photo. In addition, traditional paper-cutting stalls, where people can request any designs, are poplar among little kids.

Hachioji is one of the few towns that still have Geisha and you can see Hachioji Geishas selling morning glory planters at the Asagao Ichi (The Morning Glory Market). It can be a good opportunity to take photos of Geisha ladies and talk to them. Last year, even Geisha shows were held at this event. Traditional dance and traditional games for Geisha parties were showcased. (I introduced a short movie of Geisha's dance recorded at this event last year. To see the post, please click here!)

The annual Hachioji Summer Market a nice local seasonal event!

A Big Sacred Circle Can Get Rid Of Bad Lucks From Your Body And Soul?

It's already December 29th, so 2016 is going to end soon! In Japanese traditional custom, we have cleansing rituals at the end of a half year and a whole year as I introduced in my previous post inJune. We can see special events/items for this custom at some of the Japanese Shinto shrines.

The photos are taken at Koyasu Shrine in Hachioji city, Tokyo (4-10-3, Myojin-cho, Hachioji City). It is one of the oldest local shrines in the area and apparently the shrine was originally build in the 8 century. Many local people love this shrine because it’s believed as a shrine that gives blessings for matchmaking, having babies, and safe births.

Now you can try annual "Cleanse Ceremony for The Year" at the shrine. A big circle made by a thick straw rope was placed in front of the shrine building and this circle is a special item to cleanse people's body and soul. When you walk through the circle three times making an "8" shape tilted 90 degree as you can see in the lower center photo, your body and soul would get cleaned.

It is said that the origin of the ritual came from a legendary episode. Long ago, when one of Japanese gods was traveling he asked one night stay at a poor man’s house. The man gave the god warm hospitality, then the god told him that he can escape from the disaster of diseases when he carries a ring made of one kind of grass. Later, he could survive from an epidemic by following the teaching. In ancient time people carried a small ring of the grass to get rid of diseases, but later it changed to the aforesaid ritual going through a big circle.

How about trying this ritual and cleansing your body and soul to prepare for coming New Year?

Good Chance To See Traditional Festival Stuff, Annual Hachioji Summer Market Is Being Held!

This weekend (July 2nd and 3rd, from 9:00am to 7pm), the annual Hachioji Summer Market (Natsu-no-Fubutsu Ichi) is being held around JR Hachioji Station. 

Along the Nishi-Hoshasen You Road (laid out from the north exit of JR Hachioji Station ) you can stroll around the Asagao-Ichi (Morning Glory Market) and stalls selling traditional style wind chimes and local goodies. 

There are more traditional old-days style festival stalls, which are not just selling goods/food. They also have entertainment aspects. People can enjoy getting the goods/food after they paid for it, for example, fishing small balloons floating on the water in a big tank, scooping gold fishes from a big fish tank. At traditional candy stalls, people can order to form the candy into any shape they want to have as you can see in the upper right hand side photo. Also traditional paper-cutting stalls, which cut paper into any shape by people's requests, are poplar among little kids.

In addition, since Hachioji is one of the few towns which still have Geisha people. You can see Hachioji Geisha ladies at the Morning Glory Market. What's more, there are Geisha shows on Ekimae-Ginza Street twice a day at 1pm and 2:30pm. they show traditional dance and traditional games for Geisha parties. There will be a time to take photos with Geisha ladies after the show. 

It's a nice local seasonal event!

Another Seasonal Viewing Event: 'Hotaru(Fireflies) Evenings' At Yuyake-Koyake Fureai-no-Sato Park

Now it's getting hotter and more humid in Tokyo area. Japanese humid summer is just around the corner. I have just introduced seasonal hydrangeas viewing in my previous posts, and there is another popular seasonal viewing activity this month. It's "Hotaru (fireflies) viewing"!

Japanese people are fond of Hotaru (fireflies), those fantastic glowing creatures. So "Hotaru (fireflies) viewing" is one of the popular seasonal activities since old times. However, Tokyo area has been developed so much and Japanese Hotarus require clean creeks or ponds to hatch, it is rare for people in Tokyo area to have any chance to see Hotarus.

Therefore, nowadays any area with some wildness attracts visitors with an advertisement such as "You can see Hotaru here!" and holds viewing events during summer. 

Yuyake-koyake Fureai-no-sato Park in Hachioji city, Tokyo is one of these places. This park has a huge ground with full of nature and includes many facilities such as a youth-hostel, a campground, a restaurant, a shop for local produce, and a museum. Also a small beautiful creek is running through the park as shown in the second to the upper left end photo, and every year Hotarus appear in this park. 

During the daytime the park charges entrance fees, but after 6 pm between June 11th and 26th they open the gate free of charge for the Hotaru event and people can enjoy viewing Hotarus in the park as you can see in the event poster on the upper center photo.

When I arrived there it was a little after 6 pm, and some people had already started going down to the creak as shown in the upper right end photo, although it is still too bright. Some people set their cameras on good locations and everybody there waited for Hotarus quietly. Finally it got dark around 7:30 pm, Hotarus with green-yellow lights came out here and there as shown in the photos on the lower row.

A little later, Hotarus are flying not only around the creek but over the lawns, around the facilities, and over rice paddies in the park. People welcomed Hotarus with admiration, and children were chasing them around even though it is prohibited to catch them in the park. We had a nice time of an early summer day and returned home.

There is a related post on June 18th in my other blog "Yuko's Japan Guide", please check it, too!

Hydrangea Flower Festival Is Being Held At Takahata-Fudo Temple In West Tokyo

Takahata-Fudo Temple is an old Buddhism temple located in Hino city, Tokyo. According to an old records it was originally build in the 8th century and some of the statues in the temple are designated as important cultural asset by Japanese government. However the temple is not only famous for the long history, it is one of the popular spots to enjoy hydrangea flowers (Ajisai in Japanese) in this season.

On this temple ground, there is a hill covered by hydrangeas besides the temple buildings as you can see in the map on the upper right hand side photo and the photos in the second row. There are trails in the hill, so people can enjoy walking on the hill as they enjoy the views of beautiful hydrangea flowers in June. Therefore every year the temple held "Annual Hydrangea Flower Festival", and this year it will be between June 1st and July 7th.

Apparently the hill have had wild type of hydrangeas called "Mountain Hydrangea" since old times. The "Mountain Hydrangea" may seem rather plain than the gardening types, but you would see the flowers are full of life in the hill and can feel they are really native to Japan. Also nowadays the temple planted various gardening types of hydrangeas in addition to it. Thus many people visit here for "Hanami (Seasonal Flower Viewing)" of hydrangeas!

There are more about this place on my "what's in West Tokyo" page and "Tours and Fees" page!
Also if you need any assistance to visit this temple, please feel free to contact me!

Want To Walk On Fire? Annual Fire-Walking Practice Event at Mt.Takao, Tokyo

On March 13th, a unique ritual, annual Fire-Walking Practice event of Yakuoin Temple called "Hiwatari Matsuri" was held at the foot of Mt. Takao. It is a training event for one kind of Japanese Buddhism that took in a Japanese Shinto aspect, to be concrete it is a mountain worship. The monks are called "Yamabushi" and they are distinguished from usual Buddhist monks. 

Though it might be difficult to see clearly in the photos, some of the "Yamabushi" monks put a small black accessory on their head. Actually their wear is especially different from other Buddhist monks' because they stay in a mountain to train themselves with various practices which are physically difficult. This "Fire-Walking (Hiwatari)" is one of their traditional practices. 

In the beginning they burn piled logs on the ground. The fire becomes huge and it takes time to make all logs burn down as you can see in the sequence of photos which are laid out in upper two rows. After that, the monks walk on the smoldering field full of embers.

In old times these were hidden practices, but nowadays monks probably became more open-minded and they do some of their practices in public, and allow people to join it. For this Fire-Walking Practice, too, people can join the ritual and walk on the burned field after the monks.

The monks also sell amulets for preventing fire as shown on the lower right hand side photo.

Hina Dolls (Traditional Girls' Festival Dolls) Exhibitions Are Being Held Now!

Today, March 3rd is the traditional Girls' Festival Day called "Hina-Matsuri" in Japan! Happy Hina-Matsuri Day!

As a traditional custom for Hina-Matsuri, people display special dolls set called "Hina-dolls" to wish girls' healthy growth and happy marriage. The Traditional "Hina-dolls" sets represent a prince and a princess, a happy married couple wearing ancient noble's kimono, and the formal full set is displayed on a set of stairs far inside of the room as shown in the upper right hand side photo. They are very gorgeous and also expensive.

There is a different type of decoration for the "Hina-Matsuri" called "Tsurushi-Bina (Hanging type decoration for Hina-Matsuri)" as shown in the lower three photos. 

"Tsurushi-Bina" was originally a regional custom for "Hina-Matsuri" in the Izu Peninsula area. However this type of decorations is inexpensive compared to the common type Hina-dolls, and people can make it by themselves. It spread to the whole country and today there are many craft clubs to enjoy making "Tsurushi-Bina".

In this season we can find many local exhibitions of this "Tsurushi-Bina" showing handmade "Tsurushi-Bina" decorations with a common type "Hina-dolls" set. It would be an enjoyable opportunity to see a Japanese seasonal custom.

The photos above are taken at Keio Mogusa-en Garden in Hino City, Tokyo. The "Tsurushi-Bina" exhibition will be held until March 6th there. Also Icho Hall in Hachioji City has a "Tsurushi-Bina" exhibition between March 18th and 20th. 

Traditional Lucky Charm Market on a Day-of-Bird in November

These photos are showing a traditional lucky charm market called "Trinoichi (Market of Bird-Days)". This Market is a traditional seasonal event held a couple of times in November every year. The reason it is called "Trinoichi Market" is the fact the Market is actually held on a "Day of Bird". In old times, people used twelve animal symbols of the Chinese zodiac to count time such as year, month, day and hour. 

With such system, a month can have the same animal days twice or three times, so that "Trinoichi Market" can also be twice or three times depending on the year. In such cases, each market is called separately, such as "Ichi-no-Tori (The First Bird)", "Ni-no-Tori (The Second Bird)", and "San-no-Tori (The Third Bird)". This year in 2015, we have "Trinoichi Market" three times and the second market "Ni-no-Tori (The Second Bird)" was just finished on the 17th and the photos were taken on that day.

What kind of lucky charms are sold at a "Trinoichi Market"? On the market days, many of stalls are set up on the grounds of some shrines and sell traditional "lucky rakes" as in the two upper photos. The meaning of this lucky charm is "Collecting Luck for The Next Year", and usually the rakes are made of bamboo and heavily decorated as in the lower left photos. There is a variety of sizes for "lucky rakes" and the price depends on the size. A big one can be about 5-6 feet (150-160cm) and the smallest size can be about 5 inches (10-15cm). The bigger rakes seem to have too much decoration and don't look like rakes anymore, but when you see the small one shown on the photos on the lower right hand side, you can see it is a really rake. 

This year, there's going to be the "San-no-Tori (The Third Bird)" market on the 29th of November which is Sunday. If you'd like to collect luck for the next year,  you can still have a chance to go to a "Trinoichi Market" and get a "lucky rake"!

The photos are taken at Otori Shrine in Hachioji City, Tokyo.

Photos of Mt.Takao Momiji Festival in November

"Mt.Takao Momiji Festival" has begun! Every year this seasonal event for colored leaves is held at Mt.Takao in Tokyo in November. However the forecast says after the 15th would be the best timing for viewing the foliage this year. The photos are from last year around the end of November.

"Momiji" means Japanese Maple trees which will turn to beautiful red in fall, but the word also can mean just "Colored Leaves". It is confusing since Chinese characters used for writing, are ideographic where each character can have multiple meanings. The Chinese characters for Momiji, "紅葉", is a combination of Chinese character "Red" and "Leaves" which can be also pronounced as "Kouyou" meaning literally "Colored Leaves (in fall)". In fact Momiji tree is one of the major trees for the "Colored-Leaves Hunting" which I wrote previously a week ago. Thus the word "Momiji" is used for "colored leaves", as well.

You may think that colored leaves are not only in red color. Yes, actually the Japanese word "Kouyou", which I introduced in the previous paragraph, can be written using different Chinese characters "黄葉". This combination characters have the meaning of "Yellow" and "Leaves". In short, Japanese word for colored leaves, "Kouyou" can be written in both Chinese-character combinations of "Red Leaves" and "Yellow Leaves".

It is like playing with words. I think it would be one of the fun aspects of using ideographic characters for writing. However there is no Chinese-character combination for "Orange Colored-Leaves". Perhaps we should create that one, too.

Photos of seasonal items for traditional Boys’ Festival Day

Today, May 5th is Boys’ Festival Day which is one of the traditional seasonal events in Japan. Families with little boys would display a Samurai armor, a traditional doll of a great man, or carp shaped wind streamers at home to ensure their sons' good future.

Also there is a seasonal sweet for this day, and it is one kind of rice cakes called Kashiwa-mochi. Kashiwa means a name of a Japanese oak tree, the sweet is wrapped by an oak leaf, so it is called Kashiwa-mochi(Oak-rice-cake). The Difference from the cherry blossoms rice cake is that people don’t eat the oak leaf. The oak leaf has the meaning of wishing for prosperity.

Moreover, traditionally people take a bath scented with one kind of Japanese iris leaves. Since old times it has been said that the plant can get rid of evil thing, so people soak this leaves in their bath and pray for their health. Once a year, only for this day Japanese supermarkets sell the iris leaves like the one in the photos.

A Mini Virtual Tour of Counryside Japanese-Soba-Noodle restaurant on March 3rd(Hinamatsuri Day)

Coming across an unknown but good local restaurant would be one of the fun things during a trip. This time, introducing a virtual tour to visit a local Japanese Soba-noodle(Buchwheat Noodle) restaurant in Hidaka-city, Saitama prefecture.
(If you can't see the slideshow below, please click here!)