With two major spring celebrations and a bunch of other cool events, this weekend is set to be the year’s best yet.
The rain today and Friday might put a damper on cherry blossom viewing plans, but as long as the delicate flowers don’t get washed away, you’ll have Saturday and Sunday to get in a last picnic under the trees. Check out our Top 5 guide and last weekend’s advice for good spots, and keep Kinuta Park, Jindai Botanical Garden (recommended by a cheapo reader) and Roppongi Hills (which features beautiful lit-up sakura scenes at night) in mind too.
And then there’s the big one you’ve been longing for. That’s right, the Kanamara “Penis” Festival is on in Kawasaki this Sunday. Try to get there by 10am, which will give you ample chance to browse the various penis-shaped ornaments, buy penis-shaped snacks and sample a … special, salty kind of amazake (nope, nothing fishy about it at all). Proceeds go to a good cause. The legendary pink phallus parade (with chaps in drag) is expected to happen around 12.
If you need a change of scenery afterwards, head to Akihabara to catch the last of Oktoberfest.
You can also check out the Azalea Festival at Nezu Shrine, which starts on Saturday, or take your kids to Buddha’s birthday bash (The Flower Festival) at Gokokuji Temple, where they can watch, and maybe even join in, a colourful procession at 2pm on Sunday afternoon (no website, sorry). If you’re in the mood for a bit of bargain hunting, you can snuffle around the “souq” flea market on at the East Exit of Ikebukuro Station (near Sunshine City), also on Sunday.
