We arrived in the afternoon and noticed there was a line. We walked to find the end and it went and went for multiple blocks! I hesitated waiting, but my husband was willing and our son was fine. So, we waited. It took 27 minutes, which was much faster than expected, to get up to the shrine.
Tori-no-ichi is a festival to ask for good luck in business. While many people who own businesses attend, other people go simply to buy charms which they hope will bring them some extra cash. The charms are rakes, called kumade (coo-ma-deh) decorated with lots of amulets, each representing different things related to business and money. They come in all different sizes, and really vary in price from cheap to over-the-top extravagant. The kumade needs to be hung with the rake fan up, so you don't loose all the luck it has raked up.
It was interesting to see so many people bringing their kumade back from the previous year to have it burned (similar to the New Year's arrow). There was a shrine employee (or volunteer) standing on a ladder, helping people to put them into a big wooden box that will be burned later.
The festival was really small. It was mostly just a line to the shrine and 8 booths selling kumade and other trinkets. I've heard that Asakusa has a really big Tori-no-ichi. Something to check out in the future.
We bought a very small kumade with stalks of rice hanging from it. Frankly, I can always use a bit more luck with money. Couldn't we all?
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