Alternative Tokyo Experience: Ring in the New Year with Foxes

A year has flown by, and with a whole year of busyness behind us, it's time to plan how to celebrate, party, and relax.It’s certainly fun to have things to do, but the thought of going to Lan Kwai Fong to count down again — with the same programs repeated over and over — can’t help but make one feel a bit bored.Actually, New Year's celebrations aren't limited to just drinking and countdowns. Want to try something different? Why not step into a legendary world inTokyo’sWatch a "hundred foxes parading at night" unfold on the streets.

Visiting shrines or temples during the New Year isJapanA long-standing tradition,JapanKnown as "hatsumode," and naturally accompanying the visit to shrines is a variety of celebratory festivals.The so-called Hundred Foxes Night Parade is actuallyTokyo’sA New Year festival held at a Inari shrineThe shrine is locatedTokyo’sThe Prince in the northern district can be easily reached by taking the Namboku Line of the subway and getting off at the Prince Station.Although the Inari Shrine may not be as famous as Meiji Shrine in Shibuya, the "Prince Fox Parade" New Year's festival held here is truly unique and full of novelty.

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As the name suggests, the festival is related to foxes.It is said that foxes are messengers of the Inari god, and on New Year's Eve,KantoFoxes from various regions gather under large trees, dressing up in splendid attire and forming grand processions under the moonlight, then marching together to Inari shrines to worship the Inari deities who govern grains and harvests.Based on this legend, shrines began organizing the Fox Parade Festival in the 1990s, aiming to recreate the spectacle of foxes marching in procession to worship and to pray for a bountiful harvest in the coming year.?/p>

Of course, todayTokyo’sPeople don’t mainly make a living through farming, but that doesn’t reduce their enthusiasm for worshipping the Inari god, as the Inari deity has gradually come to symbolize wealth. Participating in the Fox Parade carries the meaning of hoping to earn a fortune in the coming year.

The giant fox mask is one of the focal points, and besides this design, there are also ones with their mouths open,There is a golden pearl inside.

Participants in the festival first gather at the Inari Shrine.On the way from Oji Station to the shrine, you can already see many foxes—some wearing fox masks, others with painted fox faces—all heading in the direction of the shrine.Apart from the foxes, you can also see many Japanese-style lanterns along the road, some of which are inscribed with "kitsune-bi" (the legendary foxfire said to be lit by foxes under the trees).When you arrive at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, you can see even more people dressed up as foxes, of all ages, and under the glow of the “kitsunebi” (fox fire), the shrine’s fox messenger statues nestled among them really seem alive, as if ready to join the festival parade with the crowd.

That night, everyone will carry lanterns inscribed with "fox fire."Representing the legendary foxfire said to be lit by foxes

By midnight on New Year’s Eve, the festival officially enters its climax.The shrine first holds a New Year's Eve bell-ringing ceremony, after which the fox procession parades through the streets, advancing under the watchful eyes of crowds lining the roads.In the queue, besides a variety of foxes, large and small, there are also various lanterns and fox-face statues as tall as a person. Occasionally, there are children dressed in fox costumes sitting in palanquins carried by adults, which inevitably reminds one of the floating color parades in Cheung Chau.If you get tired from walking, why not stop by the nearby stall selling ma lai go (a type of coconut pudding) or a bowl of warm wonton noodles for a quick bite? Take a rest and enjoy the view.

Oji Fox Parade 2016

Address: Kitakami Inari Shrine (Tokyo, Kita City, 2-30-14, Ōji), Ōji Inari Shrine (Tokyo, Kita City, 1-12-26, Kishimachi)
Event dates: December 31, 2015 to January 1, 2016
Access: A 8-minute walk from Ōji Station on the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, or a 10-minute walk from Ōji Station on the JR Keihin-Tokyo TohokuLineLine "Prince" walk for 10 minutes

Although the Ōji Fox Parade is held only once a year,Tokyohas so many more fun and unique spots beyond that—check out Fever Travel’s list of 33Tokyoattractions to explore!
http://www.dcfever.com/travel/sightseeing.php?id=2115

Acknowledgment: HK Express