Sanja Matsuri

What: San­ja Mat­suri is the biggest fes­ti­val in Japan and a cel­e­bra­tion of the founders of the Sen­so­ji Bud­dhist Tem­ple, with 100 portable shrines (called mikoshi) and three larg­er shrines parad­ed through the streets of the famous Asakusa dis­trict of Tokyo to bring pros­per­i­ty, luck and good health to atten­dees and local busi­ness­es.

With over two mil­lion peo­ple attend­ing over the course of the three days, the cel­e­bra­tions begin with the Daigy­oret­su Parade where priests, locals and Geisha’s parade through the town accom­pa­nied by music and danc­ing, with street food, shop­ping and the parad­ing of the mikoshi begin.

When:  The San­ja Maturi takes place for three days over the third full week­end in May, with fes­tiv­i­ties begin­ning at 1pm on the Fri­day and end­ing in the late evening on the Sun­day.

Where: The San­ja takes place in Asakusa dis­trict of Tokyo, Japan by the Sen­so­ji Tem­ple. For best view­ing spots the parades fol­low the route of Yana­gi Dori to Sen­so­ji Tem­ple and Asakusa Shrine, with the beau­ti­ful Kam­i­na­ri­mon Gate also being a great place to enjoy the San­ja and the fes­tiv­i­ties.

Dura­tion: San­ja Mat­suri lasts for three days begin­ning after mid­day on the Fri­day and con­clud­ing on the evening of the Sun­day, with each day hav­ing a unique event, Fri­day sees the Daigy­oret­su Parade of priests, local and tra­di­tion­al dances, Sat­ur­day fea­tur­ing the parad­ing of 100 mikoshi (portable shrines) and the Sun­day fea­tur­ing the main parade of three Mikoshis through­out the Asakusa Shrine.

Tick­ets:  No tick­ets are required to par­tic­i­pate and watch the San­ja mat­suri, just be sure to arrive ear­ly on the Sun­day and be pre­pared to jos­tle for posi­tions.

Need to Know: Some two mil­lion peo­ple are expect­ed to attend the San­ja Mat­suri so book accom­mo­da­tion in advance and be pre­pared for a packed and crowd­ed expe­ri­ence !

More Infor­ma­tion: The japan guide web­site (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3063.html) con­tains infor­ma­tion on dates, hotels and access for the San­ja Mat­suri.