I am finally getting around to putting my thoughts and images together from my recent trip to Japan. Today I bring you some images from the Sanja Matsuri Festival held in Tokyo. Before I get into the images, I want to share a few bits of information about my trip and the images I will be sharing here on the Gnat blog. My recent trip to Japan was a work trip for Salsa Cycles, my place of employment. As such, the images I share here will mostly be about non bike experiences. In time, Salsa will be sharing the full story and bike related experiences.

Today, I share some images from the Sanja Matsuri Festival. On our last afternoon in Japan after all bike related obligations ended, our friend took us out walking around and shopping in Tokyo. We didn’t plan to go to the festival, but upon walking into and experiencing the festival, we just kept walking and following it. One thing I find interesting about the 2 festivals we happened upon in Japan is that, unlike US parades where folks stake out a viewing spot and go home after the last float goes by, the Japanese follow the festival parade to a destination that appears to end in a huge festival. Thousands and thousands of people on the streets walking and following. It was incredible.

The following 15 or so images were all taken with my Sony E Mount 50mm f1.8 mounted to my NEX 7. This lens is quickly becoming my favorite lens on the NEX 7. It is a bit long at roughly a 75mm equivalent on the NEX 7’s APSC sensor, but I love the look, the feel, the sharpness, and the depth of these images. I have processed them, to which I expect many of you won’t like, to give a vintage festival feel.

Hope you enjoy.

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I feel so lucky that we walked into this festival experience. It was great to experience this first hand.