Another Saturday and, oh yes, more action in Tokyo. Today I ventured about an hour away from home and got into some samba action in Asakusa. It was the 30th showing of the Asakusa Samba Festival and it is a must see for those who ever visit Tokyo in late August. This time of year is filled with some uniquely Japanese festivals, and other borrowed novelties.
I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I heard there was a samba festival in Tokyo. Being Caribbean I am a bit of a carnival snob. No one do carnival like we do carnival, Brazil being the exception, and even though it is billed as a parade it's pretty much a carnival. Oh, how good could this possibly be, I thought? Well the answer is good, very good.
I was highly impressed by the samba parade. The dancing was well choreographed across all the groups, the music was authentic, and the colors, quality, and flamboyance of the costumes was some of the best I've ever seen. Plus, there was a small contingent of Brazilian dancers who definitely stood out for a number of reasons.
The parade was short, maybe about half a mile total, which was a good thing because it was also hot and humid. The dancers, many wearing 6 inch heels, danced choreographed to live samba music sang by locals as they made their way along the parade route. The groups looked like they were having the time of their lives and it made the experience more enjoyable.
Today was also the first time that I took the Tokyo Metro (subway). Coming from NY I am no fan of subways, hence the reason I delayed riding the metro for so long. I'll sum it up in three words, it's a
The crowd at the parade was intense. I arrived too late to be close enough to the action and I could barely get a shot off without somebody jumping in front of my lens. However, being no stranger to adversity in photography, I hunted until I found a clear spot with good enough light at the very end of the parade. I had less than one hour before I had to be back at the apartment for an appointment so time was definitely not on my side. As the masqueraders exited the parade route I was able to rattle off a few shots of them heading back to take off their costumes.
The majority of the masqueraders were Japanese with very few foreigners here and there. They ranged in age from teens to older adults and were mostly women. And even though my pictures may lead you to think otherwise there were some men to be found performing.
The Asakusa Samba Festival is certainly worth the time if you're in the area. At the very least you'll be able to say you had the chance to experience carnival in Tokyo. Please see the link to more carnival pictures at the end of the post.
subway. It was certainly cleaner than the NY subway like everyone says, and the trains were impeccably on time like everything else in Japan, but it's still a bunch of tunnels underground that you use to get around. I rather travel by bus or taxi above ground where I can take in the
sites. Maybe that's just the gaijin in me and I'll get over it eventually, but I felt the same way in NY.
The pictures are located here.
Labels:
Carnival,
Japan,
Tokyo
