My attendance at the Green Ireland Festival in Yoyogi Park two years ago really sparked my interest for attending a few more festivals in Tokyo that year. The Irish festival was the first I had attended in many, many years and I had a really great time so was keen to return but with the addition of also attending the long running St. Patrick’s Day parade taking place nearby.

This parade has been a fixture on the Japanese calendar for as long as I can remember but for various reasons, I had just never attended it until last Sunday (15th March).

I’ve been pretty dismissive of St. Paddy’s Day in the past, particularly with regard to the drinking aspect. Those comments were always fairly tongue-in-cheek but I kind of stand by them. I just never found any reason to celebrate the day back then, but I’ve very much softened my stance on it all in recent years due in part to my wife having a lot of love for the country as she did a homestay in Cork when she was a student. Besides, you are actually allowed to change your mind about things!

The parade began at 1:00 pm on the boulevard of fashionable stores between Meiji-jingumae and Omotesando Metro stations with spectators lining the street as they went down one side and then back up the other meaning everyone would eventually get to see the 1000+ participants.

This annual cultural celebration of Ireland’s national day has a long history dating back to 1992 in Roppongi before moving to its present location in Omotesando.

It reportedly attracts around 30,000 spectators keen to see the marching bands, musicians, dancers, dressed-up dogs, Irish network community group members and a giant pint of Guiness!!

Before all of that we had spent some time in Yoyogi Park at the ‘Green Ireland Festival‘ which was the 10th anniversary of this event celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It was previously known as the ‘I Love Ireland Festival’ but changed name a couple of years ago. I wanted to return last year but sadly it was a bit of a washout on the day I was free to go but there was no such misfortune this time as it was a beautiful, sunny day.

I can never resist such photo opps! #CulturalAppropriation

At home earlier that morning we had listened to some Irish artists like the Cranberries, U2, B*witched, the Corrs and Sinead O’Connor to get us pumped for our visit to the park, and live traditional Irish music was naturally a staple of the day. Watching and listening to Stringers perform on the main Green Stage for a few tunes was really enjoyable.

Alcohol is a major part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations for most but as neither my wife nor I drink we have to get our kicks from the food.

First up was a so-called large portion of fish and chips from the Malin’s truck (a place we visited in Roppongi eight years ago) which was very tasty but could’ve done with a few more chips on the side! The other dish we sampled was Irish sausages which were really good albeit a little expensive at 800 yen for two. That’s festival prices for you though!

Unlike two years ago (I’m not sure about last year!) the festival was held in the event space on the outskirts of Yoyogi Park as opposed to near the main entrance. That location seemed far better for enticing the more casual park goers unaware of the festival beforehand but was too small an area to host all the visitors.

Indeed, it took me a while to get adjusted to the more concrete-like setting but I did eventually and enjoyed introducing our dog to a leprechaun and cat mascot. I’m not sure if he was too amused by it all as he really doesn’t like animated characters or mascots and often growls at the tv screen when they’re on.

Some Tokyo-based British and Irish bars had stalls selling the likes of Guiness, whiskey and beer with the latter available in a green colour at some of them.

There were also some other booths selling merchandise or promoting Irish culture including Gaelic football which had some mini try-out sessions throughout the weekend. I never got to see it myself but presumably there was also some kind of Riverdance performance which I would’ve liked to see as back in the day I was actually quite mesmerized by Michael Flatley and Jean Butler dancing to Bill Whelan’s incredible music at Eurovision ’94.

At lunchtime I headed off and see the aforementioned parade before moving on to Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium later that afternoon. As a result, only I saw the parade (the 31st of its kind I think!) as my wife had had enough and wanted to take the dog home. Watching the parade has long been overdue but now I can finally say that I have seen it, and I would like to do so again or maybe even take part in it!

Click here to read ‘The Crowds Come Out to Have a Sham-rockin’ Good Time at the Inaugural Green Ireland Festival 2024’

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