July 9
Straight after Tanabata, it's time for the Houzuki market. Held in the grounds of Asakusa's Sensouji temple, there are about 200 vendors selling houzuki - chinese lantern plants or ground cherries. It's been a popular event since Edo times. The plant is used in traditional medicine, but the main use is as an offering for ancestors (Tokyo area marks Obon around July 15th, while other parts of Japan celebrate it on August 15th). Some of my friends said they remember playing with the vivid orange pods as kids - they look like papery balloons - and they make a lovely decoration.
The market vendors dress like Edo-era merchants and the combination of bright orange pods, cool green, and some very pretty plant sellers, brings the amateur photographers in droves. The tinkling sound of glass wind chimes (also for sale) and the cheerful cries of the vendors (and the smell of the nearby yakitori and takoyaki stalls) make it one of those perfect "summer in Japan" occasions.
As if that weren't enough, visiting Asakusa's Kannon temple on July 10th is said to be worth 46,000 visits! So you really get your money's worth! Early morning or early evening are the best times to visit, to avoid the crowds and the heat. The plants cost around 1,500 yen, but you can also buy branches of the orange pods for around 800 yen, and crowd watching is free. If you go there in the afternoon, be sure to stop by Amuse Museum, just off to the right of Sensouji. The museum always has interesting craft displays and a great shop...but after 6pm head upstairs to Bar Six, tucked away above Asakusa, with great views over the temple complex.
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| The sounds and smells of summer: fuurin (wind chimes) and katori buta (pig shapes mosquito coil holders) |
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| Skytree! |
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| Houzuki sellers |
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| I bought a little basket of pods. |
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| Sensouji as seen from Bar Six |
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