Two miraculous days of magic unraveling”… I went to the “Tobita Shinchi Summer Festival” known to those in the know.
On this day, ryotei restaurants were open for business as usual, and some were open during the day. The sight of the Danjiri moving past the ryotei restaurants was well worth seeing. The combination of the gorgeous danjiri, people dressed in white and red happi coats, and the tasteful ryotei restaurants is a perfect match. The harmony of the old brothel district with the Danjiri group created an old-fashioned scene full of emotion.
Note that you can only photograph the “festival scene. Please note that you can only photograph the festival, not the ryotei (Japanese-style restaurants) or the women in the restaurants. In order to keep this good tradition going forever, please observe the minimum manners, such as “photographing the townscape as a background” only during the two-day festival, but “not photographing the women in the ryotei restaurants”.
Tobita Shinchi is currently operating under the Tobita Shinchi Cuisine Association. If you visit Tobita-shinchi, you will see that the streets are very clean and there is not a single piece of trash on the side of the road. The lighting is bright at night. Public toilets, parking lots, and rest areas are well maintained. This is possible because there are strict rules to protect the community and the community is still strong. The community is supported by people who manage the area well. On the night of the festival, a male customer with his phone out at the entrance to the main street was warned by a security guard patrolling on a bicycle. This is how rules are enforced in Tobita Shinchi.
Under the rules set by the Tobita Shinchi Cuisine Association, Tobita Shinchi has become so clean that a summer festival is held with the participation of children. In today’s society, where the local community is collapsing, there are many things to learn from the autonomy that Tobita Shinchi still maintains for its residents. It is no exaggeration to say that the resilience of Tobita Shinchi is something that Japanese society should take a fresh look at. Tobita Shinchi, with its well-functioning community, will surely survive in the future.
Part 2: “Bikini-clad beauties everywhere, like a bathing beach! In the second part, “Walking around Tobita-shinchi and Matsushima-shinchi on the night of the festival, “ we will further introduce the excitement of the night of the festival and the festival in Matsushima-shinchi.
