Plum Festival at Makuyama Park
As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently went to Makuyama Park for the Plum Festival. It celebrates the blossom of the 4000 plum (ume) trees of the park. Here are more photos of the event.
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Comiket 85 - Winter 2013
The 85th Comiket (short for “Comic Market”) is currently being held in Tokyo, until tomorrow December 31st. Like the summer Comiket that I attended in August, it takes place at Tokyo Big Sight, on the island of Ariake. There are 3 parts to the Comiket: The main event is the Doujinshi fair (which I didn’t visit this time, since it seems to mostly consist of rows after rows of stands selling amateur homo-erotic manga) but there are also mutiple areas for cosplay, as well as a hall for professional companies to sell their products. The weather was great and the venue was really crowded.
Chrysanthemum Festival at Yushima Tenjin Shrine
The kiku (chrysanthemum) is not only the ‘imperial flower’ of Japan but it’s also one of the symbolic flowers of autumn. There are many festivals celebrating the flower in Tokyo. The 35th Chrysanthemum Matsuri of Yushima Tenjin (near Ueno Park) took place last November.
Nezu Shrine Festival
I attended a matsuri (Japanese festival) at the Nezu Shrine last week-end. It featured stalls with greasy food and games for children but the main event was the presentation of the mikoshi, a portable shinto shrine that looks like a miniature building.
Comiket 84 - Summer 2013
The 84th Comiket (contraction of “Comic Market”) was held a few days ago at Tokyo Big Sight in Ariake, Tokyo. It is the world’s largest fair for self-published manga (a style of publishing known as dojinshi in Japan) but is also the occasion for cosplay and sales of products by established companies. It takes place twice a year, in summer and winter. About 500,000 attend the summer Comiket. It was indeed massive!
Tsukiji Honganji Bon Dance Festival
Mid-summer is the season for obon, the traditional Japanese festival of the dead. It is the occasion of festivals featuring taiko drumming and group dancing. The dancing takes place in a circle, with predefined moves depending on the songs. Here are some photos of the Tsukiji Honganji Bon Dance Festival held at the Tsukiji Honganji Temple in Tokyo.
MiniComi + International Autonomous Robot Racing Competition 2011 @ UBC
Total nerdfest at UBC yesterday: MiniComi (artist market & cosplay, similar to Japan’s Comiket) & International Autonomous Robot Racing Competition at the same location.