Three portable shrines called mikoshi were carried through the streets in Tokyo's Asakusa district as part of the annual Sanja Matsuri festival for the first time in three years.

The mikoshi had not been carried since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The traditional Shinto festival linked to Asakusa Shrine heralds the arrival of early summer.

Musicians played Japanese flutes and drums, and spectators shouted when parishioners lifted all three mikoshi on Sunday.

Only those who had received their third vaccine shots or tested negative for COVID were allowed to carry them.

The mikoshi were placed on wheeled platforms to allow them to be carried through the streets by fewer people.

A woman in her 60s who came with her 6-year-old grandchild said she brought a photo of her late father-in-law who liked festivals. He passed away two years ago, and she said the sight of the mikoshi cheered her up.