Hojoya at Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka

I went to Hojoya (放生夜) last weekend, on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Hojoya, one of the three major festivals in Hakata (=Fukuoka). This autumn festival of Hakozaki Shrine is held every year from September 12 to 18. Hojoya is originally a shrine ritual to pay respect to everything alive and prohibit killing. I saw many people visit the shrine on this occasion to give thanks to the rich harvest of autumn, pray for traffic safety and business success.

As many as 700 street stalls will line up along 1 km long approach. I ate some food there; French fries, Grilled chicken (Yakitori in Japanese), Soft Ice cream and even Taco! Nowadays, opening a stall for selling international food has become more popular in Japan.