The 5 Best Events in Shinjuku, Kanto

The annual Tokyo Marathon welcomes over 35,000 runners. One of the six World Marathon Majors, participants run a route that takes them whirring past the Tokyo Imperial Palace, around the Tokyo Big Sight, and towards the finish line that awaits in the distance. Whether visiting as a spectator or a runner, fanfare around the event is high, with onlookers in the thousands cheering on racers as they take on 26 miles of open road in under seven hours.

The Jingu Gaien Hanabi Takai is a quirky display of fireworks, famously held at the Jingu Kyujo Baseball Stadium. This firework show stands apart in that it is preceded by a number of live concerts, which invigorate the crowds. After the musical performances, guests may watch the display from their seats, which is a rare luxury in the 'early bird gets the worm' culture of most Japanese firework shows.

The Tori no Ichi market is held annually in November at Otori Shrines across Japan. With 600,000 visitors, Hanazono Shrine's Tori no Ichi is one of Edo's Big Three Tori no Ichi along with the Asakusa Tori no Ichi and Okunitama Shrine Tori no Ichi (in Fuchu). Stalls sell decorative kumade rakes for business prosperity and you can hear the sellers shouting and clapping good wishes for customers until late night. Once you buy a kumade rake, they say that you should buy a larger one each year. So it is best to buy a small one first. The shrine also has an unusual freak show theater.

The Hanazono Shrine Festival is the shrine's main festival held on the weekend (Saturday to Monday, with Friday included in main festival years) closest to May 28th. In the main festival years, an ornate float leads the way for the shrine's huge 1.5-Ton Honsha portable shrine measuring 1.1 Meter wide and 3 meters high and the Raiden portable shrine. They parade from the shrine along Yasukuni-dori road, Shinjuku-dori road, and Meiji-dori road. In secondary festival years, portable shrines from the shrine's eight Shinjuku neighborhoods assemble at the shrine. The shrine has many food stalls crowded with people.

Eisa is Okinawa's bon dance. An impressive dance as they beat large and small taiko drums. The Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri started in 2001 when an eisa drum troupe from Okinawa was invited to a local festival. Back then, they had only five troupes and 330 performers. Today, it has become a major event with 25 troupes and over 1,000 performers seen by 1.2 Million spectators. Held annually on the last Saturday of July when Shinjuku turns Okinawan.