For my first blog, now long gone, it was a struggle to find topics. I didn’t have the experience. The writing was not my strong point. Searching for new topics occupied a considerable part of my daily routine. It was a major cause of stress back then. One day, someone mentioned flower festivals.
Luckily, Tokyo has lots of them, and they are easy to find. Once I started going, I came to appreciate them. Now I go whenever I can. And the first flower festival I went to was at Kameido-Tenjin. It was a good experience.
Kameido Tenjin is a major Tokyo shrine. It is known for its flowers. The most important one is the wisteria. There are others of course. Anyway, I was happy I went in 2017 as a pleasant surprise was waiting for me. It was more than I expected.
Wisteria, as they grow, will climb up any available support and drop purple flowers. They are a type of vine. Kameido Tenjin has provided latticework for them to grow over. The cool thing is that the shrine has ponds crossed by drum bridges. Drum bridges that the air raids of World War Two destroyed. These are replicas.
During festivals, the bridges crowd with people because they are excellent vantage points. You can get some great shots from them. In front of you is a wisteria-lined path to the shrine and Tokyo Skytree in the distance. On a fine day, it is a superb scene.
Luckily, in 2017, I went when the wisteria were in full bloom, and the weather was great. And I have to say the fragrance from the flowers is very pleasant. I’ve become quite a fan of Kameido Tenjin. These days, I visit it at least twice a year.
And the pleasant surprise I had was a bird. Someone brought along a falcon! They put it on a vacant pole and let people take photos. That was a first for me. And it was the last time until I went to Hama Rikyu Gardens in 2020.
Kameido Tenjin’s wisteria festival is a beautiful event. I highly recommend it. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
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