Celebrating in the rain

We're Seattleites through and through.  A little rain isn't going to hold us back from enjoying a matsuri (festival)!  So, even though the weather forecast wasn't very enticing today, we headed out anyway to enjoy Hibiya Oedo Masturi. 

Billed as a traditional meets modern festival, it was a family friendly event.  The main features were the mikoshi (portable shrine) parade and food booths.  Located in Hibiya Park (the same park as Farmers & Kids Festa), the festival was located around the main fountain.  Since it was already raining when we arrived, the crowds were a bit sparse.  But the energy was high regardless.

We arrived just before lunchtime and were hungry.  So, we hit the food booths first.  I spotted some fried shrimp that looked so yummy.  My husband chose squid that was smoked and stuffed with rice.  Our son picked karage (fried chicken).  Even in Japan, festival food isn't very healthy.  But at least all three were very delicious.

After eating, we noticed the parade had begun, so we found a spot along the route to enjoy the dancing, music, and mikoshi.  The taiko drums provided the beat as people danced along the parade route with a variety of traditional instruments.  They didn't seem bothered by the rain as they continued to move with enthusiasm.  I was really impressed by the women dancing on the front of their geta (traditional wooden shoes) and the men twirling the matori (Edo period fire fighting "flags" used to notify people of a fire). 

We watched the whole procession and would have happily watched more if they had it.  It's not that it was too short, we just enjoyed it very much.  Luckily, they had gone around a big loop, so we were able to see a bit more.

It was time to head home.  There wasn't any booths to peruse except for a kids area, where they had the same scooping games that are at every festival.  A person can only have so many bouncy balls and cheap plastic toys in their house, so we avoided that area. 

Instead we opted to stop for a bit of dessert.  I chose a pineapple ale.  My husband picked a lychee beer that was dyed a weird green.  And our son opted for shaved frozen strawberries with sweetened condensed milk.  Since I was expecting shave ice, I was floored to see that it was all frozen fruit!  Even though it was pouring by this point, it tasted so delicious!  I think I will recreate it at home sometime on a hot day.  I think our son will be super happy to enjoy that treat again.

While I don't understand why the festival was advertised as old meets new, we had fun anyway.  It was great to see all the drummers, dancers, and teams carrying the mikoshi.  I don't think I will ever tire of the festivals here!