2015 A year of Matsuri-ies: Kabushima Shrine, April 19th

Torii gate at entrance of Kabushima shrine. 

Every year, on the third Sunday of April, there is a festival celebrating the over forty thousand black-tailed seagulls, or umineko, who call Kabushima Shrine home.

Kabushima is a Shinto shrine off the coast of Hachinohe, a city about 16 miles southeast of Misawa.

Sarah and I took the Bean to the festival this year. She had a blast chasing birds and running into the wind. It was so windy that she tripped a few times...and the wind literally held her up.

Hopefully these pictures will help you imagine what 40, 000 seagulls occupying a small island looks like.

Most people bring umbrellas. Not for protection from rain, but from poop.

Each white dot is a bird!