Torikoe Festival 鳥越祭

Note: The 2024 installment of this event has already taken place.

Standing on Kuramaebashi Road, Torikoe-jinja (also spelled Torigoe-jinja) Shrine has a history that stretches back 1,370 years. Its annual June festival includes a mikoshi (portable shrine) parade and draws big crowds. A performer dressed as a folk deity called Sarutahiko, tekomai dancers, and children with colored flags lead the parade. At night the mikoshi, surrounded by traditional lanterns on poles, is returned to the shrine. Weighing around four tons, the Senkan Mikoshi—the main attraction of the parade—is one of the heaviest portable shrines in Tokyo. This nighttime parade is a true spectacle, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors every June.