The highlight of Asakusa Sanja Matsuri festival is the procession of over 100 portable shrines (float, known as Mikoshi).
浅草三社祭庆典的高潮是百多台神轿涌入浅草的观景。
The team rocked the float from side to side, with the crowd cheering on them.
几十人抬着笨重的神轿，不停地摇晃。
Energy of the participants were at all time high.
Over 100 mikoshi from the nearby Asakusa 44 districts will be paying tributes to The Goddess of Mercy (Kannon). This could be seen when the participants raise the mikoshi in front of the Kannon Hall.
神轿被抬到观音堂前向观音像致敬。
The float would be carried to the open space behind the Kannon Hall, next to the Asakusa Shrine. The mikoshi would later be blessed (purified) by the Shinto priests.
观音堂后的空地被挤得水泄不通.
Today (the last day of the Sinja Matsuri festival) is the largest parade. Too bad that I have left Tokyo, so no chance to see the Yakuza (who has whole body tattoo and standing on top of the float).
第三天才是三社祭的高峰。大架的浅草寺神轿将会巡遊。可惜我已经飞离东京了。
Everyone was cheering and keeping the spirit high.
Police officers and community folks help to keep the floats save from the crowd. It was dangerous to stand too near to the procession route. I was standing right at the corner to get close to float without using zoom lens. At few incidents the floats would hit the crowd, so one has to take extra caution.
人挤人的通道具有一定的危险性。如果站得太近可需格外留神。
You could notice there were always helpers who protected any sharp edges to steer the float as well as to prevent it from hitting on others.
It was a long way back to the starting point, so participants could swap and take turns to carry the mikoshi (while the float was still proceeding).
看抬轿的群众换岗也是蛮有趣的。
The mikoshi portable shrine was made of wood and was heavy.
见到怎么多人抬一部轿子就知道神轿有多重。
If you love the being knock over, this is the best place to be.
怕人多最好远离此地。
This year is the 700th anniversary of Sanja Matsuri, so more people turn out for the festival.
七百周年的浅草三社祭的确是个令人难忘的庆典.
It is definitely an experience of the life time to be able to witness this festival in close proximity.
