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Today was the second day of the massive, annual, 3-day Sanja Matsuri festival in Asakusa, Tokyo.

Shrine bearers giving it their all at the Sanja Matsuri 2016
Camaraderie at the Sanja Matsuri 2016, Asakusa, Tokyo. 
The Sanja Matsuri (literally "three shrine festival") is associated with Sensoji Temple, or, more accurately, with the Shinto shrine that forms part of the Sensoji Temple. The shrine venerates the founders of what is said to be Tokyo's oldest temple (over 1,200 years), and the Sanja Matsuri likewise celebrates them.

Children's fife and drum float, Sanja Matsuri, 2016, with Tokyo Skytree in background.Today being the second day, over 100 mikoshi portable shrines were paraded down the main street of Asakusa, each representing one of the dozens of districts that make up the Asakusa area. The parade down the streets is actually the last - if most publicly visible - stage of the ceremony. To begin with, they are borne down the long Nakamise-dori alleyway flanked by stalls that leads up to Sensoji Temple, then are taken to the adjacent Asakusa Shrine where they are blessed by a Shinto priest. They then return to their respective neighborhoods with every bit as much enthusiasm as they set out.
Senior participants at the Sanja Matsuri procession, 2016 - Kaminarimon Gate of temple in background.Enthusiasm is the Sanja Matsuri's keyword. The air crackles with it. Drums bang and fifes toot, and the voices of the shrine bearers are raised in rhythm...