Hydrangeas are the flower of the week as festivals pop up across Tokyo and major traditional festivals cross their fingers to avoid the worst of the rainy season. Sanno Festival and Torigoe Matsuri are the big ones, with thousands taking to the streets to see the festivities and load up at the food stalls. The Sanno Festival, also known as Sanno Matsuri, is one of “the three great festivals” of Tokyo.
There are plenty of things to see and do throughout the festival, with performances at Hie Shrine almost every day, but the biggest event is the parade that takes place on June 7. Join us, Tokyo Cheapo, for our 47th Downtown Drinks in June and get to networking, meeting new people, and enjoying a few hard-earned drinks. This event is meant for everyone — from readers to travelers to mysterious strangers.
Whether you’re looking to network, meet new people, or just get outside into the open air. Like the Sanja Festival, this matsuri also involves smaller shrines from the neighborhood associations, but what everybody wants to see (and if possible, carry) is the huge mikoshi. The streets surrounding the shrine are filled with yatai stalls selling the usual matsuri fare such as chocolate dipped bananas, yakisoba, takoyaki, grilled fish, and copious amounts of beer.
This is a chance to see fireflies in an unlikely urban setting: in the “wilds” of Kugayama in Suginami Ward. While there won’t be clouds of glowing bugs, you will be able to spot a few. There will be two main.
