Akihabara Maids Cool Down Electronics District With Uchimizu

Akihabara Maids Cool Down Electronics Districtalready fairly cool to begin with -- but that didn't
With Uchimizustop participants from having fun.
Young women from in costumes fromUchimizu has long been practiced by home-owners
Akihabara's maid cafes took to the streets ofalthough it's slowly dying out as the modern
Tokyo's electronics district Saturday to attemptgeneration turns to air conditioners and other
to cool down temperatures by practicing an ageshigh-tech gadgets to beat Japan's oppressive
old Japanese tradition called Uchimizu, wheresummer heat. The festival in Akihabara, which is in
water is sprinkled on the hot concrete to cool itits fifth year, is a by-product of a wish to keep
down.old Japanese traditions alive.
About 20 maids -- coffee shop workers whoCos-players -- people wearing costumes of their
dress in uniforms -- assembled at the nearbyfavorite animated characters(from: -- can often
Kanda Myojin Shrine, where they and their waterbe seen in the area and the maid cafes grew out
was blessed, before sprinkling it on the shrine'sof this culture.
concrete pavement in front of a crowd ofThe event was one of the first major things to
photographers(from: and fans. Over the course ofhappen in Akihabara since a stabbing rampage left
15 minutes they managed to bring down the7 people dead and 10 people injured in early-June.
temperature by a few degrees.At the start of Saturday's event a minute's
Then it was off to Akihabara proper. Thesilence was observed in memory of the dead.
temperature was attacked at three places aroundThe attack shocked many in the area but they
the railway station with varying success. Outsidehope that through events like Uchimizu the unique
one building the temperature fell just point 3 of aspirit of the district will return.
degree -- probably because it was shaded and