I headed out early today since I wanted to be at Tsukiji before 9 am. This is the Tokyo district famous for its fish markets (and seafood restaurants) but I was going for a different reason.
After I exited the subway I followed a small crowd through the streets until we saw signs of a festival being set up. At the end of the stalls there was a shrine, and in this shrine giant lion heads were on display:
Today was the day of the Shishi Matsuri (Lion Dance Festival), which is only held every three years. The festival involves a portable shrine being carried all around the town for several hours. This in itself is not unusual – it’s a common type of festival here and Kristin and I have seen them before in the past – but what makes this one special is that the portable shrine is accompanied by giant lions!
Except today… it wasn’t 🙂
I suspect – and heard others speculating – that the lack of lion dancing was due to the rain. Perhaps the lion heads are fragile or not waterproof? Either way I didn’t see them today. But the shrine parade itself was spectacular enough, and I was quite taken by the little carriage that led it, in which were seated some elderly musicians playing traditional Japanese festival music:
It was a fun thing to see and the enthusiasm of the throng carrying the shrine was infectious. I’m glad I went to check it out.
Afterwards I headed over (via two trains) to Shibuya for some shopping. Since it was still early when I arrived the crowds weren’t too bad (as you can see above) but several hours later when I left they were insane. Shibuya is popular with the younger crowd, and it’s obviously the place to be seen on a weekend!
After a healthy and delicious lunch I looked in a wealth of shops for the usual stuff. I bought too many postcards (watch your mailboxes; you’re all getting extras), stickers, gacha toys, books and games. I also spent a lot of time in Mandarake – one of my favourite shops on Earth – and while I didn’t buy anything once again I loved just looking at the rarities in the cases. Such as a $3000 Tarzan comic:
Or a $1000+ Ultraman record (from almost 60 years ago):
Or even a $35000+ (yes, thirty five grand) Yu-Gi-Oh card:
Only 500 of these solid gold cards exist. I doubt I’ll ever see one again!
These busts of Rem and Ram were almost life-sized and in a gacha machine shop. This was the last place I visited in Shibuya and I was very worn out when I finally got back to the hotel. An early dinner, a hot bath, and my energy had returned! The options were write postcards and watch TV, or head to the Akihabara game centers just a hop and a skip from my room?
You can guess which one I picked…. but let’s save Akiba for tomorrows entry 😉