Tokyo Jidai Matsuri

The entire history of Tokyo gets condensed into a single afternoon in this annual parade, held on Culture Day (November 3) each year. The Tokyo Jidai Matsuri (literally, Period Festival) sees some 1,600 people troop through the streets of Asakusa in costumes representing a variety of eras, from the 7th century up towards the present day. Always a well attended event, it promises to be extra crowded this year, when it falls on a Saturday. The procession starts and finishes at Sensoji Temple, following a course that loops down to the iconic Kaminarimon outer gate and back again.

See Photo gallery: Tokyo Jidai Matsuri