AUGUST | FUKAGAWA HACHIMAN FESTIVAL

The Fukagawa Hachiman Festival is one of the three big Shinto Festivals of Tokyo along with the Kanda and Sanno Festival. It’s hosted by the Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine and takes place around August 15th, but the schedule changes every year. This festival, unlike the Kanda and Sanno Festival is held every year, but on a small scale. The main, full scaled version of the festival is carried out every three years and is very big and wild (2017, 2020, 2023 and so on).

This festival is nicknamed the mizu-kake festival which literally means the water throwing festival. People can throw water on the mikoshi, or the portable shrine. The mikoshi is too heavy it is usually not paraded around. It’s actually the heaviest mikoshi in the region weighing about 4.5 tons and decorated with diamonds, sapphires and rubies and is rumored to be more than 1 billion yen (10 million USD). If you’re not scared of huge crowds then definitely come out for the food stalls, games, music, dancing and their main mikoshi parade on the Sunday of the week long event.

Entrance fee: Free

Photo credit: Tokyo Cheapo

Location: 1 Chome-20-3 Tomioka, Koto City, Tokyo 135-0047, Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine.

Dates: Around August 15

Website: N/A

How to get there: A short walk from Monzen-Nakacho Station on the Tokyo Metro Oedo and Tozai Lines.