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三徳 西早稲田店
For TBT I chose this pic today. This was the grocery store near our apartment in Tokyo from 2009-2010 that we went to pretty much every day. After returning to the states I realized I didn’t take any photos of the stuff we saw every day, like Santoku. So when I went on a nostalgia stroll in 2013 I decided to get a photo of good, ol’ Santoku.
Tenso Jinja (Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan)
After a 20-year gap in living in Japan, we went back to live in Tokyo for a year beginning in 2009. On our first night we headed to a Bon Odori at Tenso Jinja. That was a magical night for me.
Flash forward to 2013, and I hadn’t been to Japan for over three years. I wandered into my old neighborhood to find my local shrine getting ready for its annual Bon Odori. The vibe was bittersweet as I waxed nostalgic but also realized I would be heading back to the USA before the actual event took place the following week.
Japanese party signs
While wandering through my old neighborhood in Tokyo a little over a year ago I noticed these signs for the 2013 version of the Bon Odori I went to in 2009 and the matsuri I went to that same year. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to be in Tokyo long enough to experience either of them again. Instead, I ended up at this place.
The poster on the right is for the 2020 Summer Paralympics which will also take place in Tokyo. That announcement came down shortly after I took this photo.
Almost four years have passed since this festival took place at Tenso Jinja (天祖神社).
Ryochoin (亮朝院) on New Year’s Eve
Most temples and shrines in Japan will have some sort of relatively low-key event planned for this evening. Unlike summer festivals, New Year’s Eve in Japan is usually celebrated by watching TV at home (maybe in part due to the temperature outside). However, most people will head out for Hatsumode (初詣) tomorrow or soon thereafter rather than participate in the ritual just after the stroke of midnight.
Today’s photo comes from the afternoon of New Year’s Eve 2009. We didn’t stick around our neighborhood Ryochoin to see what happened there. Instead, we went to the balloon release on the other side of Tokyo, an event that no longer happens. Ryochoin is decorated in New Year’s garb in today’s photo. For what it normally looks like, click here.
Tenso Jinja (天祖神社) lanterns all lined up and ready for some Bon Odori action
Last month I returned to my old neighborhood near Waseda University for the first time in more than three years. Seeing Tenso Jinja again was very 懐かしい for me. Unfortunately, I left Tokyo before they had the annual event these lanterns were set up for.