Ushi Tenjin Kitano Jinja Ume Festival

Ushi Tenjin Kitano Jinja, a shrine in Bunkyo Ward. Despite passing through this area frequently, I had never stopped by until I saw it in a list of the best areas to visit for ume (cherry plum) season.

 

Taken while climbing the stairs.

The entrance to the main shrine.

"Please don't tie fortunes onto the ume branches."

Komainu (lion-dogs that guard shrines) and baby komainu.

Another baby komainu, hiding.

Oxen feature greatly in a certain type of shrines called Tenjin Shrines. (Another famous example: Yushima Tenjin.) Tenjin Shrines are dedicated to the spirit of Sugawara Michizane, an 8th-century scholar and politician.

Another motif of Tenjin Shrines: plum blossoms. This is the office of the shrine (and most likely other shrines in the area).

These photos were taken about a month ago, when it was still rare to find a flowering ume. Now, they have finished blooming.

A list of all the donors to the shrine.

Fuji Xerox Super Cup 2013

By some weird twist of fate, I ended up with free tickets to the 2013 Fuji Xerox Super Cup. The match pitted the J. League Champions and the Emperor's Cup winners of the previous season: Kashiwa Reysol and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

I freely admit to not knowing much about Japanese soccer -- the only time I will watch is when the World Cup is going on. Still, I'd never seen a soccer game in person so it seemed as good a time as any.

What surprised me was the number of kids in attendance. More than a few of them were literally bored to tears.

For some reason, the camera crane was only set up on this side of the field.

Purple for Sanfrecce Hiroshima...

...and yellow for Kashiwa Reysol. Both teams had a dedicated fan base that were on their feet throughout the game, singing songs and clapping.

The game itself I found rather lacking in interest, although fans of soccer tell me it was a good game. The problem with watching soccer on TV is that your viewpoint has already been determined by the camera, and the announcer clues you in to when something important will happen. Left to my own devices, I was struck by how difficult it is to keep track of the ball. I almost missed Sanfrecce's goal -- the only goal of the game -- and really only saw it from the corner of my eye.

Warming up in case a replacement is necessary.

The Reysol's goal keeper Takanori Sugeno, who exercised during when the ball was on the other side of the field.

A baby in the bleachers. There were nearly 30,000 people in attendance.

I didn't even notice this sign until the crowd had thinned a bit after the game.

Yushima Tenjin Ume Festival, Part 2

What you didn't see in the last post: dozens of stalls set up inside Yushima Tenjin, selling food and toys visitors. I was rather surprised by how blatantly commercial it was.

Grilled squid.

Freshly baked potatoes. Look at the huge tin of margarine! The design looks like it hasn't been changed for 60 years.

A shooting game, which seems rather wrong in a shrine, but then Japan isn't a country that is big on self-reflection.

An old lady selling dried persimmons.

A stand where you could mix your own shichimitogarashi ("seven-flavored red pepper").

Play pinball (visible at the right end of the table), win candy.

Chocolate-covered bananas are a staple of festivals, but I've never seen one embellished with koala no march (koala-printed cookies with chocolate inside).

These Daruma dolls promise to bring you all sorts of good luck.

From the left: wooden spatulas, chopsticks, and cutting boards.

The nearby University of Tokyo's Manga Club drew people's portraits.

There was even a talent show! Here, a Chinese performer made a whole act out of being able to balance things on this head.

This man with the rubber Elvis wig was supposedly a magician, but his shtick was too tedious to make me want to stick around.

Yushima Tenjin's Ume Festival

Yushima Tenjin again, this time for their annual ume (plum blossom) festival. The festival ends this week on the 8th, one month after its start.

Unfortunately, due to a fairly cold February, the ume were barely in bloom when I visited two weeks ago. The steep steps leading to the side entrance of the shrine boasts a large ume section, but hardly any color was to be seen.

Almost there...

It was a shame, because the shrine was packed with people who had come out to see the flowers. They had to make do by photographing themselves in front of the handful of small trees that were in bloom.

Many popular shrines take the time to update their official websites every day, noting the flowering of the blossoms. As of writing (March 3), the trees are approaching their prettiest state.

These ume trees were donated by the local elementary school 17 years ago.

Tea ceremony sessions, open to the public.

This shrine is popular among students who are taking entrance exams for school, or those entering the job market. They write their wishes on these wooden plaques, called ema. The IKEA visible on the right side of the photo said something like, "I hope I'm hired to work at IKEA Japan!"

The shadow of the branches on the tent makes the tree look larger than it is.

It was a very windy day, but these torii gates should not be in such a shambles.

The bonsai ume trees were invariably in bloom.

Sinobazu Pond

Shinobazu Pond, in Ueno Park. It's the perfect time of year to do some bird-watching.

...not that any of these birds are unusual. They probably all occupy the "least concern" part of the endangered animals list.

The Pintail, with its elaborately marbled feathers...

...the Tufted Duck...

...and a rather young-looking seagull.

Not sure what these rafts are for, but it seems like the perfect spot for birds to make nests.

A random photo shoot was happening when I was there a couple weeks ago. Clearly, the girl has never watched America's Next Top Model, because that pose is doing nothing for her figure or her outfit.