Hanazono Shrine Torinoichi Festival
The Torinoichi Festival happens two or three times each November. Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is one of the hosting shrines, and some 600k people take part in the festivities.
People go to buy kumade, which are ornamental rakes, because it’s said that it will help them “rake” in good luck.
I just happened to stumble in during my first year living in Tokyo, but this time I intentionally went to check it out. Unfortunately the crowds were way too much - a line about a traffic lane and a half wide worth of people that went down the street and around the block.
Despite this, there was a lot to see. Here are some scenes I managed to snap.
Lanterns at the entrance of the Hanazono Shrine
A chef prepares food for customers at his stall
People having fun over food and drinks
One of the kumade rakes
A man prepares a potato at his food stall
A woman loads toppings on her steamed potato
Steamed potato with butter, mayo, spicy miso and kim chee.
People browse a food stall aisle at Hanazono Shrine
A man makes okonomiyaki at his food stall
A man cooks takoyaki at his food stall
A woman blow torches cheese at her food stall
A man grills tako (octopus) at his food stall
A man grills a meat skewer at his food stall
The crowd walking past food stalls outside of Hanazono Shrine