Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival

Famed since the Edo period as one of Tokyo’s top spots for the purple wisteria flower, this festival runs at Kameido Tenjin Shrine for slightly three weeks.

Along with the flowers themselves, the festival features lots of the usual festival food stalls as well as regular tea ceremonies, taiko drummming and ikebana displays.

Although the festival dates are fixed, the wisteria doesn’t always play along. On warm years (think when the cherry blossoms bloom in March) the flowering may be all but over by the start of May. If it’s a cooler year, the blooms may be a bit sparse at the beginning of the festival.

(Greg Lane)