Hinode Matsuri

Spring is the loveliest time of the year in Japan and the Japanese welcome this fragrant, colorful time of the year with a lot of sprightliness and enthusiasm, celebrating annual spring festival in various shrines across Japan. Of these several exuberant Spring festivals Hinode Matsuri or the Sunrise Festival is held at Mitake Shrine in Ome as the shrine's annual spring.

It's that time of year when the sky seems bluer, the grass looks greener and the birds seem merrier chirping as a welcome song for the bounty of nature. Springtime in Japan marks the beginning of the year for the people, both academic and fiscal year, which start in April. With Cherry Blossoms opening up to flaunt their beauty, and that means   -  Hanami  -  - admire the blooming cherry blossoms and get drunk!

Main Highlights of Hinode Masturi (Sunrise Festival), Tokyo:

  -   Parades of portable shrines
  -   A spectacular parade of Samurai warriors in full armor
  -   Enjoy free of charge Shinto music performance at night
  -   Watch the Takigi Noh (outdoor Noh performance).

One of the eminent shrines of Tokyo is its Musashi Mitake Jinja shrine in the Kanto region, located atop Mt. Mitake in Okutama. Hinode Matsuri, or the Sunrise Festival, is shrine's annual spring festival, featuring the popular samurai parade. In this unique parade, the samurai warriors clad in full armor carry the special replica of the portable shrine, which shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi offered, from the mountain top station of cable car through the village, climbing up 300 stone steps up to the Musashi Mitake shrine.

To add to the epic sight, there is elegant Shinto music performed by the musicians who also parade along the shrine carrying warriors. This one-of -a-kind extraordinary sight pulls huge crowds who gather at the shrine and along the parade route to enjoy seeing the picturesque event every year.

In fact, in 2005, which was a year of the Rooster, the festival marked its once-a-12-year grand ceremony, so that the Zao-Gongen stature could specially be exhibited to the public until the end of May.

Come to Musashi Mitake Jinja, this May and be a part of the Tokyo Hinode Matsuri celebrations.

Getting to Musashi Mitake Jinja shrine:

The best way to reach Musashi Mitake Jinja is by taking a bus from Mitake Station on the JR Ome Line. From there travel to   -  Cable Shita  -   stop, get off at the stop and then take a cable car. The shrine is at 30-minute walking distance from   -  Mitake-san  -   stop on the cable car.

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