One of Tokyo's three greatest traditional festivals returns in May. The Kanda Matsuri is customarily held on odd-numbered years and consists of a week-long succession of rituals and parades centred around Kanda Shrine.
The highlights are on Saturday May 10, when three lavishly decorated ceremonial mikoshi (portable shrines) are shuttled through the streets for the Shinkosai shrine ritual; and Sunday May 11 (from 9am), when the Mikoshi-Miyairi ritual sees more than 200 mikoshi from the surrounding neighbourhoods paraded through the streets of Kanda on their way to Kanda Shrine. Both processions are accompanied by priests on horseback, musicians and more.
The Shinkosai procession on Saturday begins at 7.20am within the Kanda Shrine precincts, while the Mikoshi-Miyari on Sunday kicks off at various shrines at around 10am, continuing until the mini-shrines make their way to Kanda Shrine by 6.30pm. You can see a map of the routes on the festival website.