Rediscovering Tokyo: A Journey through the May Festival
Capture the moments through the lens and words
It’s been another year in Japan for me.
Comparing my first impression of Tokyo two years ago to now, everything seems unusually normal. The beautiful streets that once captivated me have become the familiar roads I walk to school every day. The interesting billboards in the subway station have turned into plain walls. When we live in an environment we take for granted, we often fail to appreciate its intrinsic beauty and how fortunate we are to be here.
Perhaps, when I was too busy with life, I failed to notice the things worth appreciating.
Determined to rediscover the beauty around me, I picked up my new camera, the Fujifilm XT30, to capture the views that often go unnoticed.
I learned about the May Festival at the University of Tokyo through friends on Instagram. The international student community in Tokyo is quite close-knit, so interesting events often spread by word of mouth.
University Festival is pretty common in schools in Tokyo, and my own school, Keio University, hosts the Mita Festival every November, where students from various seminars and clubs set up shops and booths around campus. Last year, as a member of the swimming team, I was lucky enough to be on the site despite the pouring rain and chilly weather — a memorable but unfortunate experience.
The weather for the May Festival today was perfect. The clouds shaded the burning sun just right. I arrived at Hongo-sanchome station around 11 am. As I got off the train, it was clear that most people were heading to the Tokyo Uni campus for the festival. Families with children, university students in groups, and young couples holding hands and chatting around me.
Unlike the Mita Festival, the May Festival only lasts for two days over the weekend. As I walked up the slope to the campus entrance, people converged, squeezing through the gate.
The first thing I noticed was a booth labeled “Alcohol Permit.” Intrigued, I discovered that students could obtain a permit here to buy alcohol, bypassing the need to show ID at every booth. It indeed can help to alleviate the long waiting queue.
Then, the festival was massive compared to Keio’s, both in terms of people and campus size. The map showed multiple stages and countless booths selling a myriad of unique items.
Moving with the crowd, I couldn’t change my route at free will. The first thing that caught my eye was a kebab shop. A student in a classic outfit from the mid-80s waved a cute but massive homemade board with high-contrast colors, immediately grabbing my interest.
I raised my camera and captured the moment.
Suddenly, a voice called out behind me.
“Are you interested in trying our kebab?” the student asked in Japanese.
“Haha, I’d like to check out other shops first,” I replied in Japanese as well.
I was indeed interested in the kebab, reminded of the little shop near my school where I often had lunch for its cheap prize. However, the long queue here made me reconsider.
“Oh no, you must try it! The food is really good here!” The student persisted, walking with me as I tried to leave the scene.
“Really, I’m not hungry right now, but I’ll check it out later. Which club are you from?” I asked, hoping to change the topic.
“Huh?”
“Is it a club or a social circle?”
“Aha, no, we’re a seminar group.”
“Oh, that’s very cool! But I have some other things to do now. I’ll check it out later.”
Finally, he admitted to my intention. “Alright! Please come by then!”
He gave me a firm and nice smile, and returned to the booth.
What a nice encounter!
I continued down the road. The whole school had a different vibe than I had ever felt before. The atmosphere transported me back in time, 10 or 20 years earlier. Beyond age and identities, people chatted with strangers, whether they were college students, 5-year-old kids, or elders in their 80s. This campus united everyone.
Then, as a walk toward the center of the campus, the wild and weird playground intrigued me. Kids played inside colorful fabrics strung together by strings and zippers. Occasionally, a smiling head would pop up and disappear again all of a sudden. It seemed to be a project by the architecture department.
I pressed the shutter button once more.
The buildings at the University of Tokyo offered another surprise. The historical architecture and the geometric designs of the avant-garde new buildings together embodied the integrity of the university.
As I was searching, I just discovered an interesting fun fact. Most of the old buildings inside the campus was designed by Yoshikazu Uchida, who was also an alumni and president of the university.
Many campus buildings were designed by Yoshikazu Uchida in the Gothic style known as Uchida Gothic. One of the most notable examples of this style is the Faculty of Medicine Building 3, the administration building for Medicine.
Little did I know that most of the buildings were destroyed after the Kanto Earthquake in 1923, after which Uchida designed and reconstructed most of the buildings in Tokyo University.
However, architecture cannot exist without people. Regardless of the era, it always blends with the style of its people and stands the test of time.
“And so, Sally can wait
She knows it’s too late as we’re walkin’ on by
Her soul slides away
But ‘Don’t look back in anger,’ I heard you say”
The song played from the main stage.
Children might not understand the meaning of the songs.
People might not grasp the lyrics.
Yet, the song, the place, and the event brought people from their own worlds together to meet in this one place.
The END.
