TOKYO - Shibuya was engulfed in massive crowds on September 14th as people gathered in front of SHIBUYA109, to the point where movement was nearly impossible. The draw was the Shibuya Konno Hachimangu Annual Festival, a centuries-old celebration held in the heart of the city to pray for prosperity and good harvests. It is regarded as Shibuya’s largest festival.
Among the 14 mikoshi portable shrines carried through the streets, children joined adults in the procession. Foreign tourists caught in 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 said they were surprised to discover such a cultural event unfolding in a place better known for its skyscrapers. A visitor from Osaka noted, "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 also alive with festivities as the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival took place on September 13th and 14th. With more than 300 years of history, the highlight of the event is the spectacle of four-ton floats racing through the streets and making sharp right-angle turns at intersections in a maneuver called “yarimawashi.”
The momentum of the three-day weekend continued on September 15th, when crowds again packed locations nationwide. Aerial footage showed long lines in front of the Hachiko statue at Shibuya’s scramble crossing. In Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, Hibiya Park also drew huge lines of people. At the front of one queue was a booth selling skirt steak, seasoned with a house-made sauce and priced from 1,200 yen. The “Meat Festival,” featuring 36 vendors, bustled with visitors. One attendee said, “I took the day off just to come here. After this, I’ll be ready to face work tomorrow.”
But the holiday concluded with heavy traffic jams. At the Tomei Expressway near the Atsugi Interchange, cars heading toward Tokyo were already backed up by mid-afternoon, stretching far into the distance. Similar congestion was reported on the Kan-Etsu and Tohoku expressways, where jams were forecast to reach up to 30 kilometers.
Source: FNN
