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Kanda Matsuri or the Kanda Festival is one of the three great Shinto festivals of Tokyo, along with the Fukagawa Matsuri and Sanno Matsuri.
The festival started in the early 17th century as a celebration of Tokugawa Ieyasu's decisive victory at the battle of Sekigahara and was continued as a display of the prosperity of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period. At the time, the festival was important enough to be named a state festival. |
Kanda Matsuri
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Its highly decorated Mikoshi "Portable Shrines" were paraded down the main streets and into Edo castle so that even the Shogun could observe the celebrations.
The current form of the festival is also held in honor of the kami of the Kanda Myojin and to be a celebration for the wealth and good fortune of the people. The main events happen on the Saturday and Sunday closest to May 15, but since it alternates with the Sanno Matsuri, it is only held on odd numbered years. On these years, the festival takes place at the Kanda Shrine in Kanda area, as well as surrounding central Tokyo districts. Kanda Matsuri holds a long procession of almost 12 hours on the Saturday of the event. The procession leaves Kanda Shrine at 8:00 in the morning. |
Kanda Matsuri - Mikoshi
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It follows a winding route from Kanda Shrine to Tokyo Imperial Palace to the banks of the Sumida River, Akihabara and back to Kanda Shrine.
The Mikoshi event on Sunday also stretches across a wide area as neighborhoods in the Kanda area take their local deities "Ujigami" for a walk through the streets in Mikoshi to bless the local residents. Mikoshi are paraded through local neighborhoods and then to Kanda Shrine. Its prominent parades involve about over 200 Mikoshi, Shinto priests on horseback, participants in Edo-era costumes, musicians and dancers. |
Kanda Matsuri
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The best place to see both events is at Kanda Shrine when the procession returns around 19:00 in the evening.
Besides the main events, Kanda Festival provides an opportunity to experience an excellent Taiko drum performance. Variety of food stands which are in separable part of the festivals are always around. The Kanda Matsuri of Tokyo is ranked as one of Japan’s top three festivals, along with Gion Matsuri of Kyoto and Tenjin Matsuri of Osaka. |
Kanda Matsuri
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The Sanno Matsuri, another of the Great Shinto Festivals of Tokyo, is held in mid-June on even numbered years, while the third member of that group, the Fukagawa Matsuri, is held annually in mid-August by the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine in Koto Ward Tokyo.
The Sanno Festival also is performed over a week and has different events, but most of them are rather small and not comparable to Kanda Matsuri. It winds for an incredible 25 kilometers through the streets of central Tokyo over the course of nine hours on one of the festival days. |
Sanno Matsuri - Hie Shrine
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Along the way, the parade makes several stops including the Imperial Palace Gaien, which is a large park in front of the Imperial Palace.
The head priest of Hie Shrine enters the palace to offer prayers for the peace, happiness, and prosperity of the imperial family. The Hie Shrine is the only shrine in the country honored with this privilege. The Hie Shrine which is responsible for holding the festival the spot where the parade begins and ends. |
Tokyo Hie Shrine
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Kanda Myojin & Hie Shrine AccessKanda Myojin Shrine is about 5 minutes walk from Ochanomizu Station on the JR Chuo Line, Tokyo Metro Marunoucni Line and Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line.
The closest Stations to Hie Shrine is Tameike-Sanno Station on Ginza Line and Namboku Line that is about 5 minutes walk from the Shrine. Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is about 6 minutes’ walk from Monzen-Nakacho Station on the Tozai and Oedo Lines. |
Fukagawa Matsuri
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Muslim Friendly AccommodationHere as you see, there are few Muslim friendly hotels in Kanda Myojin and Hie Shrine neighborhood. Once you click on any of the hotels, you will be redirected to an online booking website where you can make your reservation.
There are more Muslim friendly hotels in Tokyo listed on our website. For booking random hotels you can search with Hotels.com. There are Vacation Rentals in the Kanda Myojin and Hie Shrine area which suit travelers who prefer to rent a living space, especially for larger groups, families or those who seek a more local, everyday life experience. If you are traveling light and looking for a more economical place to stay Hostels are a good option. For booking a rental car use the search engine below. Fill out the details; pickup and drop-off places, date and time, and press search. You will be redirected to Rental Cars website where a list of available cars will be shown to you to choose from. |
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Kanda Myojin Shrine - Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
