During way too many hours of the day, getting on and off Tokyo’s trains can be akin to (relatively) well-mannered mayhem, although at the same time, the obvious emotional stress of such journeys is somehow kept very much in check.
When it comes to traditional festivals, however, there are moments when it really is mayhem, and for once, emotions are thankfully very much to the fore.
Hans ter Horst says
Wasshoi, wasshoi, wasshoi, wasshoi! I can hear them from here! I do like the crop as I would have gone for a more open shot and been sorely disappointed with the result. You captured the dynamics and the seemingly chaos of shouldering the Migoshi
Lee says
Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised how it came out, as I was being unceremoniously pushed out of the way. This was approaching a junction, and it seemed to be forever on the edge of going horribly and dangerously wrong, but of course it didn’t!
winnie says
Awesome shot!
It must be very noisy, crowded , squeezed…!
Lee says
Thanks Winnie. It was. Very. But in many ways that made it more fun!
Michael says
This is what greeted me and my wife on our first ever time in Tokyo and in fact first time in Japan. We had just finished getting from the Airport to our final stop Monzen-nakacho, and wandered out in to the street confused and disorientated. Suddenly this paradise of noise, chants, and fountains of water greeted us from down the street.
Nakacho, nakacho, nakacho. We watched in fascination as they heaved, thrust, shouted and splashed their way down the street followed quickly by young men trying desperately to re-fill their buckets of water for another round, until it faded away in the distance leaving us stunned and dumbfounded. It was as if the city had gone “Welcome to Tokyo! Enjoy your stay.”
Your photo brings it all back. The heat, the noise, the smell, atmosphere. Thank you!
Lee says
You are more than welcome.
Something else, aren’t they? I’ve seen too many to remember, but they still amaze me, so I can only imagine what it must have been like having just arrived in the country. An incredible welcome indeed!
dochimichi1 says
Brilliant shot, so dynamic!