Kanamura Matsuri detour

After meeting with my friend at Shinjuku, we hopped on the train to Shinagawa and then to Kawasaki Daishi station for the Kanamura Shrine. We fell into the habit of following the crowds and ended up at another shrine...which we didn't realize until much later. ^^; Hungry as were, we had okonomiyaki (as a late breakfast ^.^) and downed it with some yummy ramune.

The shrine was a good size (quite large for a small town temple) and had lots of snacks and food vendors as well as toys for kids. The strangest part was that there was only one stall selling a phallus figured snack. Strange, because we heard/read that the rumored Kanamura festival will bring forth more penis snacks then that. We walked all over the place looking for the famed penis filled stalls and signs of the events to no avail.

We spent alot of the time looking at sakura and walking around. The weather was wonderful and we even took a break on a bench in the sun. (We also looked at some yaoi amvs that I had on my mp4 player. ^.^)

(A couple of years ago, I took a random pic of 'boy feeding pigeons'. Here is 'obasan feeding pigeons'. ^^;

The above pic features a kitty who spent most of the time resting on a wooden platform. Everyone came around and took pics of the kitty. It was the hottest attraction in that shrine. ^^; (I took the pic before the kitty moved to the platform.)

There was a turtle pond filled with...turtles. ^-^ Kids were throwing in bread to feed them. (I think some of the turtles in the above pic are actually statues...but not sure. ^^;

I finally understand the concept of 'penis envy'. ^^; There were some people that had penis-shaped lollipops (of various sizes) which I couldn't find anywhere...and I wanted one! *cries* I finally got the courage and asked someone where she got her treat. At another shrine nearby the station. O.o We were in the wrong place. We went out the nearest exit and found the Kanamura shrine.

The Kanamura shrine wasn't that large, which is good since we could see everything. No wonder there were so many people going to the previous shrine: there was no food shops beyond the penis lollipop stalls. ^^; Although we missed the parade (if there was any,) the festivities were going strong. We found ourselves in a sea of gaijin. I have never seen so many foreigners in Japan in the same place. Foreigners out number the Japanese 5 to 1. ^^;

penises galore!

There were lots of stalls selling trinkets that were phallus shaped. Wood carvings, toys, penis on springs...and clothing with the penis on it. ^^; There were also cloth that had different sexual positions on it. ^^; The vagina also had a presence at the festival with vagina lollipops as well as figures. ^^; BTW, the lollipop stall had a huuuuuuuge line that I gave up on them. Instead, I had pink penis-shaped snacks which I bought from the previous shrine. (Our detour was not without purpose. ^-^)

Penis with springs.... ^^;

In the middle was a large group of transvestites, all males dressed as females. They were not young, but they still looked nice. (I wish my friend, Rachel could have been there. ^^;) My friend mentioned that they were famous, but I don't remember if they had a group name or something. In either case, they were a hit. ^.^ (The miko in the above pic was a dude. Pretty, ne? ^.^)

Another attraction (which we kinda missed) was people cutting up veggies into penises. Fortunately, we didn't miss the next part which was an auction. People could bid for the peni-veggies. ^^;

There was a penis statue at the right of the main shrine. The mini-shrines used for the mikoshi parade were in another building. In that building was the big black penis as well as the gigantic pink one. Of course, we found the wooden penises that people could ride on. I considered taking a pic on top of one, except we realized that there were so many people taking pics of random girls on them. I had no wish to join in that collection so I stuck with a pic beside it. ^-^

A long thin one...

...and a big one for riding. We finished taking pictures there right before they closed the doors. Giri giri.... *whew*

A band started playing after 3pm. Guitars, drums, singers and children singing along in the front. They danced for us too! *applause* There was guy with a strap-on in the crowd. The strap-on dildo...was on his head. *-* There was also a guy wearing a mesh shirt with a chest that bounced when he danced...which mesmerized me for a good 5 minutes. ^^;

But the best was an ojiiisan that danced a bit with a beer can in hand. Gyrating his hips, shaking his butt...he was too cool. ^-^

The band opened with 'Material Girl', 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' among other English songs as well as Japanese.

I didn't buy one, but borrowed other ppl's lollipops for pics. ^-^ Vagina lollipop...

...and a penis one.

A large pink one I bought for my apartment mates. ^_^ We took a pic before leaving. (lol An ojisan is smiling from the side. ^^V)