(305) Kanda Matsuri – 1

Even deities need police escort; if only to make way for them. From the big festival called Kanda Matsuri (神田祭) in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo that returned this year after a four-year absence; it is normally held biennially, on odd numbered years but in 2011 it coincided with the great Tohoku earthquake and it was cancelled. The matsuri is organized by the Shinto Shrine Kanda Myojin (神田明神) very close to Akihabara and even for the standards of a city with hundreds of festivals and fairs, it is considered a very big deal.

(For a bigger version of this picture both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr)