Sensoji Temple Year-end Market (Hagoita Fair) 浅草寺歳の市（羽子板市）

Note: The 2022 installment of this event has already taken place.

Asakusa's annual year-end Hagoita Fair is a colorful and exciting traditional event. Lines of stalls sell all kinds of traditional products, including Edo oshi-e (embossed art) hagoita, which is a nationally designated traditional craft. Hagoita are rectangular wooden paddles that were originally used to play hanetsuki, a traditional game similar to badminton. They were regarded as lucky objects that "hit away bad luck."

This fair originates from a custom of wishing for young girls to grow up healthy, but ever since the Meiji era, hagoita have been sold as lucky charms for welcoming the new year. At this fair, you'll find a wide range of hagoita, from beautiful decorative items to cool children's toys. As you shop, you'll find paddles adorned with kabuki actors, beautiful women and popular celebrities. There are also special uke-eto (Japanese zodiac) hagoita that can only be bought during this market from the Hagoita Preservation Society in front of the five-story pagoda.