Image search results - "shinjuku" - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

Image search results - "shinjuku"

"Hana no Kai" Dance by Kagurazaka geishaThe "Hana no Kai" geisha dance is held annually by geisha in Kagurazaka, one of Tokyo's major geisha districts. "Hana" means livley or gaudy. And "Kai" can mean gathering or party.

They held two shows on the same day. This was the second show starting at 3 pm on April 16, 2005. It lasted till about 4:45 pm.

"Blue Ocean Waves" (青海波)They performed four numbers. This first one was called "Blue Ocean Waves" performed by five geisha.

Notice that the kimono design shows waves.

Rear view

Shimada hairstyleStandard hairstyle for geisha. This a wig.

Music and singing accompanimentAll numbers was accompanied by live music and singing.

Eight Views of Tatsumi (巽八景）The second number was about the Tatsumi and Monzen-nakacho (Fukagawa) district in Koto Ward, Tokyo. The dance reflects the chic and bravado of the area (in the old days) which was one of Tokyo's gay quarters with geisha as well.

Several groups perform along the main road on the east side of JR Shinjuku Station. This is in front of Isetan Dept. Store.

A large crowd watches as the crowd-pleasing drummers bring a bit of Okinawa to central Tokyo.

Many women drummers also perform. Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri, Tokyo

Her big round eyes makes her look like a real doll.

Unlike geisha dances in Kyoto which have elaborate backgrounds, the background here is quite plain, making us focus on the geisha which were enough eye candy. The background really didn't matter. The dances were very aesthetic and pleasing to the eyes and ears.

Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri, Tokyo

Also see the video at YouTube.

Closing curtain

IntermissionThis Ushigome-Tansu Kumin Hall can hold almost 400 people. Both shows were sold out. Tickets are sold about a month in advance. They sold out within 2 weeks. I was sitting in the middle of the hall (non-reserved seating). Tickets cost only 2,000 yen.

Hand drum

Chestnut Rice Cakes （栗餅）The third number was called "Chestnut Mochi." Mochi is rice cake. They pound sticky rice to make it. Performed by two geisha. The one in blue is a male role.

The cherry blossoms lining Sotobori Moat also look stunning from the road, Sotobori-dori in front of Kagurazaka.

Infectious Okinawan beat. Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri, Tokyo

Lively Colors of Kagurazaka（神楽坂華の彩）The final number, called Lively Colors of Kagurazaka (Kagurazaka Hana no Irodori) actually consisted of seven dances. This was the first one performed by three geisha. （ひと里）

People in a long line waiting to enter Canal Cafe to either dine or rent a rowboat.

Kagurazaka geisha dance

Canal Cafe is right below the cherries. But notice empty tables despite the long line.

Kagurazaka geisha dance

Empty rowboats too.

Cherry trees along the Sotobori Moat. Formerly a moat of Edo Castle, this canal stretching from Iidabashi Station to Ichigaya Station along the Chuo Line.

引けや引け引け

Dancing in front of JR Shinjuku Station, East side

Mt. Fuji and Mt. Asama（富士や浅間）. Solo dance by a geisha named Mari（万り）.

Rowboats and low-hanging cherries.

The Word Called Love (恋と云う字)

The end of the moat is also a good viewpoint.

Smoking dragon dance

How it looks from the end of the moat.

Very popular festival and well-worth seeing.

Finale

The moat is parallel to the Chuo Line. View from Shin-Mitsuke Bridge. 新見附橋

Also see the video at YouTube.

Sobu Line passes through.

Chuo Line passes through. 中央線

Finale

Also see my YouTube video here.

Praying at BishamonBishamon is a Buddhist temple in Kagurazaka where the geisha go to worship. The song included a reference to this temple.

Photographers who love trains and cherries flock here.

Praying at Bishamon

FinaleEveryone performed in the finale.

Canal Cafe

Sotobori Park on the other side of the moat. 外濠公園

Towel throwingDuring the finale, the geisha started throwing hand towels to the audience.

Towel throwingThere were women in the middle the hall also throwing towels to people sitting further back.

A bow of thanks

Closing wordsThe women standing in the back are the okami-san (proprietress) of high-class Japanese-style restaurants in Kagurazaka where the geisha are hired to perform at private geisha parties.

Hand clappingThis is called sanbon-jime, a series of hand clapping to mark the end of a successful meeting.

Hall entrance and sign

Geisha catching a taxi homePhoto by Kevin Mihaly.

Hakone is one of Japan's most famous and popular tourist spots. Hot spring baths, views of Mt. Fuji, and more.With the Hakone Freepass, ride the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku, Tokyo directly to Hakone-Yumoto. Take the Hakone Tozan Railway train to Gora. Ride the Hakone Tozan Cable Car up the slope to to Sounzan. Then take the Hakone Ropeway high above to Lake Ashi for a cruise on a pirate boat to Hakone-machi Port or Moto-Hakone. Dramatic views of Mt. Fuji. Photo: Odakyu Line's Romance Car at Shinjuku Station.

Sold by the Odakyu Line, the Hakone Freepass is a great deal for people coming from Tokyo on the Odakyu Line.I got the two-day pass (¥5,140) which covers roundtrip express train (Romance Car) fare from Tokyo to Hakone and covers the trains, buses, and ropeway in the Hakone area. Hakone is a great getaway for Tokyoites. It's possible to see most everything on a day trip to Hakone, but an overnight stay gives you more time to see more.

Limited Express tickets are sold on the train platform if you haven't bought it yet. Making advance reservations is recommended though.

Inside the Odakyu Romance Car train.

From Tokyo's Buster Shinjuku bus terminal at Shinjuku Station, it takes about 2 hr. 40 min. to Ikaho, costing about ¥2400.

A main thoroughfare to Kabukicho.

Neon lights of Kabukicho.

Pork restaurant.

Godzilla amid Kabukicho's neon lights.

The life-size Godzilla head on Hotel Gracery's rooftop in Kabukicho, Shinjuku.

Godzilla head is on the 8th floor.

8th floor.

Godzilla's roaring schedule.

There it is, the life-size Godzilla head.

Very impressive.

Smoke emitters inside the mouth.

When it's showtime, the lights turn red.

Godzilla's roaring time. On a rooftop in Kabukicho, Shinjuku.

Godzilla roaring and spewing smoke and fire from the mouth.

Godzilla's claw on the roof edge.

Street below as seen by Godzilla.

Godzilla relief at the base, destroying the National Diet Building.

Godzilla relief

Site of the old Koma Theater.

Robot Restaurant

JR Kodaira Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line.

They happened to have flowers in front of Kodaira Station when I visited in mid-May. It was for a local flower festival held at a park.

Flower beds in front of Kodaira Station.

Kodaira is spelled out in hiragana in the flowers.

As the climax of the 37th Kagurazaka Matsuri Festival, the Kagurazaka Awa Odori Dance was held on July 25-26, 2008, from 7 pm to 9 pm. These photos were taken on July 25, 2008. Crowd at Bishamonten.

The Awa Odori is held on Kagurazaka's main street called Kagurazaka-dori, a sloping road near Iidabashi Station. 神楽坂阿波踊り

Eighteen awa odori dance troupes danced this night.

These dancers head to the starting point.

The starting point was here, at the foot of the sloping Kagurazaka-dori near Iidabashi Station.

The local Kagurazaka Awa Odori troupe is Kagura-ren. かぐら連

Kagura-ren かぐら連

Unusual to see a woman drumming a big taiko drum.

Flute players

The Kagura-ren dancers proceed up the sloping Kagurazaka-dori.

Kagurazaka Awa Odori Dance 神楽坂阿波踊り

だむだん連

Damudan-ren has an easily-recognizable kimono design pattern. だむだん連

I always see this guy at Awa Odori in Tokyo.

Hyottoko-ren

Kagurazaka Awa Odori Dance

The street is not so crowded for the most part.

Crowd interaction.

Would you believe a Daikon-ren? Yes, eating it is good for your body. だいこん連

Kagurazaka Awa Odori dancers

The street was most crowded in front of Bishamonten temple, the focal point of Kagurazaka.

Kaguazaka Awa Odori dancers in front of Bishamonten temple. 毘沙門天

Also see my YouTube video here.

Kagurazaka Matsuri poster

The new Olympic Stadium or "National Stadium" (Kokuritsu Kyogijo) was completed in Nov. 2019 and an opening event for the public called "Hello, Our Stadium" was held on Dec. 21, 2019.From Sendagaya Station, we could take a short cut past this Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium to the stadium.

Approaching the Olympic Stadium. The white tent is where we had to show our tickets.

Stadium gates opened at 2 pm, stadium seating opened at 4:30 pm, and the program started at 6:30 pm. Cold, overcast day, but fortunately, it didn't rain.

The stadium grounds has four gates (Sendagaya Gate, Gaien Gate, etc.) from the direction of train/subway stations. This map shows how far each train/subway station is.The closest is JR Sendagaya Station (440 meters) and Kokuritsu Kyogijo subway station (130 meters).
The stadium itself has eight main entrances from A to H. These main entrances further branch off into smaller entrances such as A1, A2, etc., leading to different floors and seating blocks.
The stadium seating sections are labeled Main Stand, Back Stand, North Stand, and South Stand. Each stand comprise three inclined tiers of seating. The Main Stand is the prime section. Gate F is nearest to the Japan Olympic Museum where the Olympic rings are.

This shows how far each train/subway station is.

Long line for the women's restroom on the ground floor. There are men's and women's restrooms on each floor. If the line is too long, just look for another one.

It was the first time the stadium saw this many people.

I walked completely around the stadium on the ground level outside.

Each gate had a bag checkpoint.

Line to enter Gate H.

Gate G, Aoyama Gate

Near Gate G, a large, fresco mosaic wall mural of Nomi no Sukune, a legendary sumo wrestler posing as a victor. By pioneering artist Hasegawa Roka (長谷川路可 1897–1967). This was preserved and moved here from the old National Stadium. So this work dates from 1964. 「野見宿禰」

Mosaic wall mural of Nomi no Sukune, a legendary sumo wrestler posing as a victor. By pioneering artist Hasegawa Roka (長谷川路可 1897–1967).

Another fresco mosaic wall mural by Hasegawa Roka. The Greek Goddess of Victory, depicting "Honor." This was preserved and moved here from the old National Stadium. 「勝利の女神」

This is where Hasegawa Roka's pair of fresco wall murals were in the old National Stadium's main stand. Saw it in May 2014 when I toured the old 1964 Olympic Stadium before it was torn down to make way for the new stadium.

Looks like fire escape stairs, but they are normally used to exit the stadium. It was closed while people were entering the stadium (using escalators). The stairs were opened after the event ended.

The stadium's design theme was "Forest Stadium." (杜のスタジアム). Lots of cedar lumber on the exterior. The wood came from all 47 prefectures and they point toward the place where they came from.

Stairs and escalator to the stadium's 2nd tier seats.

Tanabata streamers from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. One event highlight was Tohoku festivals.

Outside Gate E, there was a short pre-event performance of the Sendai Suzume Odori dance from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. The Suzume Odori (Sparrow Dance) is held in late July near Sendai Station. They performed in front of Tanabata streamers for which Sendai is famous in early Aug. 仙台すずめ踊り http://www.suzume-odori.com/

Sendai Suzume Odori dance. They were also going to be part of the main program inside the stadium. 仙台すずめ踊り http://www.suzume-odori.com/

Sendai Suzume Odori dance.

Stadium's ticket box office. It was closed since tickets to this event was sold in advance. First you had to apply for the ticket lottery online. If you won a ticket in the lottery (held at least 3 times), you could pay for it by credit card or at a convenience store. The ticket lottery and website were in Japanese only and geared for Japan residents with a cell phone. Very puzzling since it effectively shut out overseas visitors from buying a ticket. I didn't see any foreigners in the crowd. And yet, the event MC kept mentioning how it was for all nationalities, abled-bodied and disabled, all genders, all ages, etc., etc. No event info in English at all.

Popular photo spot with the "National Stadium" sign. Near Gaien Gate.

The stadium as seen from Gaien Gate. This area is where they had food stalls and corporate sponsor booths.

The stadium as seen from Gaien Gate.

Food stalls.

Corporate sponsor booths.

Gate B2.

We all had reserved seating so there was no rush to get to our seats. But there was this long line for Gate A that led to seats on all three tiers (1st to 4th floors) in this section on the Main Stand. The line wound back and forth four times before we headed for Gate A.

Long and winding line for Gate A.

The line moved quickly though. It took about 15 min. to get to the gate to go inside.

Entering Gate A for security check of our bags. Notice that Gate A branches off into smaller gates from A1 to A6. A1 goes to the 1st floor, A6 goes to the 4th floor.

Items not allowed: Knives, scissors (longer than 5.5 cm), poison, illicit drugs, flammable things, flares, fireworks, firecrackers, explosive items, oil, hammers, screwdrivers, chains, ice picks, glass bottles, cans, canned goods, raw eggs, and more. Plastic (PET) bottle drinks are allowed, but it may be subject to inspection.
Even this sign was not in English. So I guess they weren't expecting foreigners to attend this event.

Gate A6 led to escalators going to the 4th floor. The admission ticket tells you which gate to go to.

The turnstile used a QR code scanner. Show the QR code on your ticket and the turnstile unlocks for you to pass through.

The turnstile scanner machine (spare ones here).

Escalator to the upper floors.

Concourse on the 4th floor. This is open-air. Quite cold this day.Concourse on the 4th floor. This is open-air. Quite cold this day. I felt sorry for the staff who were working here, standing outside the corridor entrance to the seats.

A number of concession stands along the concourse, but long lines. I brought my own food and drinks, so I didn't bother to stand in line. No vending machines in the stadium. The cheapest drinks were ¥300.

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