rake festival

tori-no-ichi

there's not a lot i can tell you about this festival - all i know is that you buy a rake, and you haul in the business. it's fixed, of course, so that the vendors are the ones raking it in - each year you have to buy a bigger rake for continued growth. nevertheless, people arrive in droves. i believe the word 'thronging' is required. thronging crowds. just thronging. (say it).

there seems to be two parts to the festival - the rakes (2000 vendors - imagine the crowds... thronging), and the food.



otori shrine in asakusa is the centre of events - the entire neighborhood is shut down, streets closed, stalls erected.
















the rakes are bamboo, and nearly unrecognizable as rakes after decoration with everything from cakes to hello-kittys. there's ritual handclapping and chanting too, which is always fun when you're hopped up on sake and squid.











heaven. where do you even begin?






how about grilled green peppers stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon.






grilled squid?






oh yeah.











would you buy chicken on a stick from this man?






of course.






yep, ate it.











look at that butter load!! no, that's not me.






this is me.











here we go. japan in a nutshell: kawaii!!! sugoi!!! oishii!!!






however, these were even tastier. with your choice of red bean, custard, chocolate, or ham and cheese filling.











i'd go again. in fact, i did.