文京つつじまつり

If you think azaleas are just your average boring garden flower, then a trip to the Bunkyo Azalea Festival is in order, a seasonal festival held yearly on the grounds of Nezu Shrine. For a small fee, you can enter the magical confines of the shrine's azalea garden, where the 3,000 brightly blooming azalea plants make it feel like a scene from fairyland in a children's picture book. There are somewhere around 100 different kinds of azaleas in this one garden! And the rainbow of vivid flowers, so tightly concentrated on either side of the looping path, makes it truly a sight to behold. Just a visit to the azalea garden is worth the trip, but during the festival period the shrine will also be hosting a number of performances and rituals, plus a small azalea market.