Hello! I am an American traveling to Japan for a 9 day trip (Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka day trip(s)) during the time that Setsubun will be celebrated (February 2nd-3rd). I will be in Kyoto on the 2nd and 3rd but was planning on taking the Shinkaisen back to Tokyo on the 3rd for my flight which is early the next morning (I know, not great planning in hindsight haha) so I can be in either place for celebrations!
I was wondering if this reddit community had any recommendations for experiencing Setsubun in a respectful and authentic way, in Tokyo or Kyoto–the general time of the events would be incredibly helpful too.
In a similar vein, I would love to engage with Japanese folks and Japan’s local cultures because I feel like that’s a meaningful way to experience a new country, but I know I’m severely limited by my unfortunate complete lack of Japanese. So if anyone has any suggestions for how to do try to do this respectfully Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka, I’d be very grateful.
Thanks to everyone in advance! I’ve benefitted so much from this reddit community. <3333
2 comments
Shinkansen*
Go to a big temple like Senso-ji and watch. Look at what Japanese people do and do the same. You can also read about setsubun now so you have an idea of what it is. Without speaking Japanese, your interaction with people will be fairly limited.