Word: sensoji
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Think of it as the Japanese Mardi Gras. Held in May, the 350-year-old Sanja Matsuri festival brings 1.5 million revelers to Asakusa in eastern Tokyo to honor the three founders of the district's Sensoji - a Buddhist temple that is the city's oldest. The throng, more densely packed than any rush-hour train, is an unforgettable spectacle. Young and old are adorned in festive clothes, and pant with the effort of bearing dozens of mikoshi (portable shrines) through Asakusa's 44 residential blocks, while yakuza in loincloths proudly sport their full-body tattoos in a normally forbidden...
...Sanja Matsuri takes place on the third weekend of May. On the Friday prior, floats process to Asakusa Shrine, a Shinto place of worship close by Sensoji, for the binzasara no mai, or "harvest dance." The mikoshi parade comes the following day. Locals say that the more a shrine sways and shakes, the greater the gods' favor. The festival ends on Sunday, usually with a parade of the three mikoshi belonging to the local shrine. But because revelers became so rowdy last year - climbing on to the structures during the procession - for safety reasons the three mikoshi...
...Explore the outdoor arcade for exquisite kitchen goods and a sushi breakfast. Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, Tsukiji. GLIMPSE OF OLD EDO At Asakusa in historic downtown Tokyo, wander up Nakamise-dori poking through the stalls for souvenirs. Buy your fortune - translated into very bad English - at Sensoji Temple. POWER LUNCH Unlike its New York and London counterparts, Nobu Tokyo doesn't make you wait three months for a table. Plus, it features a delightful midday prix-fixe meal at about $30. 6-10-17 Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, tel. 03 5467-0022. PEOPLE WATCHING Stroll along Omotesando's wide tree...
...toward the Sumidagawa River and hop a $6 ferry to Asakusa, one of the few historic areas left in this overdeveloped metropolis. Wander through the old-time shopping arcade, picking out souvenirs like lacquered hair combs and Godzilla figurines. Follow the crowds to the site of the 7th century Sensoji temple, where you can check your odds of landing the big business deal by buying a fortune. Slip Y100 into the slot and shake a metal can until a numbered stick pops out. Ask a bystander to read the Chinese characters, match it to the correct drawer and pull...
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