Fukagawa Hachiman Festival
The Fukagawa Hachiman Festival is Tokyo's massive summer water fight festival. It's one of the city's Big 10 Summer Festivals.
Each year, 54 mikoshi teams together with dancers and musicians parade the streets of Koto-ku. In total, 30,000 people participate in the parade. A crowd of 500,000 cheers them on (and throws water at them). It's thought that the gods (in the mikoshi) enjoy a good summer soaking.
The water soaking also has a practical purpose. Mikoshi weight thousands of kilograms and Tokyo summers are often incredibly hot and humid. The mikoshi teams are refreshed by the constant onslaught of cool water.
Teams toss the 2,500 kilogram (5,500 pound) mikoshi into the air as a show of energy and strength Access
The Fukagawa Hachiman Festival is held in the area around Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine in Fukagawa.
Schedule
2016 Late August (unconfirmed)
2017 Late August (unconfirmed)
Every third year the festival is super-sized including 2017, 2020 and 2023. The super-sized version of the festival is 5 days long. The festival runs rain or shine.
Rankings
Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri is ranked #5 of 10 summer festivals in Tokyo
.