February Festivals and Setsubun Event Information

February 9 to 12,2018
A large gathering where participants can experience traditional Japanese culture and entertainment, such as shooting galleries and ninja activities! Three days of watching, experiencing, and tasting to your heart's content.
The venue is separated into an experience area, sales area, dining area, and event area. Some of the cultural experiences range from target practice and shuriken (ninja star) throwing, to trying the best of local cuisines. Admission is free, so please consider stopping by.

February 18,2018
The largest product exhibition in Japan featuring the charm of the Amami Islands and Tokunoshima Island. An impressive display of Tokushimas's "soul food" is made available, including a buttered potato dish using fresh "Haru Ichiban" potatoes. In addition to the great food, live stage events will also be held. Eat, drink, and be merry while losing yourself in the appeal of Tokushima.

From around 12 noon to 1 pm, "bean-throwing" is done on a large scale by men and women born in the current Chinese zodiac year, including sumo wrestlers, celebrities, and average citizens who register for participation. The ancient rites involve dressing in traditional samurai garb, attending a procession to pray for protection from evil in front of a black Buddha statue connected to Ieyasu Tokugawa, and then throwing beans from atop the stage. Other events held on a special stage include "mochitsuki" pounding of sticky mochi rice, and "onimondo" where people symbolically defeat an ogre.

Starting at 2:00 p.m., lottery tickets are distributed to guests from a special tent on the premises. It's a very popular lottery event and is free of charge, but will end as soon as they run out of tickets, so be sure to get yours early. Bean-throwing activities start at 4:15 p.m. from a special stage, with celebrity participation as well, adding a new dimension to this traditional event.

At 2:00 p.m., a Buddhist service is held inside Ikegami Honmonji Temple to pray for a year of excellent physical health, purging of evil, and to usher in good fortune, with bean-throwing activities starting at 3:00 p.m. Bean-throwing is held on a large 50-meter stage in front of the temple, where celebrities, sports stars, and recruited members of the general populace perform the ritual together. Bags of fukumame (meaning "lucky beans") are sold on site in limited quantities (at 500 JPY per bag).

Bean-throwing activities start after two processions, held at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Normally participants will chant "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" (meaning "out with the ogres and in with fortune!"). But there are no ogres before the Kannon Goddess of Mercy at Sensoji Temple, so instead of "out with the ogres," "senzu-manzai fuku wa uchi" is chanted, meaning "in with millennial prosperity, longevity, and good fortune!" After bean-throwing, the Dance of Seven Gods of Good Fortune is performed to thank the Kannon Goddess of Mercy for her blessings. This dance is performed exclusively at Sensoji Temple.

This customary event has been held since the grand opening of Tokyo Tower. A Buddhist evil-purging ceremony is performed by the chief priest of Zojoji Temple from 10:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on the day of the event, which is then followed by bean-throwing. There is also an area for people to eat Ehomaki sushi rolls, while facing the year’s favorable direction (changing annually) for good fortune. From 2:00 p.m., participants can eat the traditional sushi while facing that direction from an observation tower. Ehomaki sushi rolls are available for purchase on the 1st floor of the observation tower, but only in limited quantities.