Tori no Ichi 2014

Hi all, my spouse and I will be arriving in Tokyo on 9th Nov and we are keen to visit the Tori no ichi festival. Just wondering, is it right to say that the festival will start on 9th night? We got the info from Hanazono Shrine website, not sure if we got it right. Also, will Asakusa Sensoji have the same celebration on 9th? If so, which one is more worth visiting? The Asakusa one, or the Hanazono one? We are based at Ikebukuro during our stay in Tokyo.

Hope to get some help regarding this! Thanks!!

The Asakusa Tori no ichi festival is at Chokokuji, not Sensoji.

Both Chokoku-ji(Asakusa) and Hanazano shrine(Shinjuku) are the largest Tori no ichi festival sites in Tokyo.

http://otorisama.jp/kaizan/kaizan06.html
http://www.torinoichi.jp/english/index.htm
http://www.hanazono-jinja.or.jp/mt/top/index.html

Chokoku-ji celebrates Tori no ichi on 10th Nov and 22nd Nov between 0:00-0:00(24 hrs).
Hanazono celebrates on 9th Nov(as Pre festival between lunch and 2:00 a.m.) and festival day(10th Nov, lunch-2:00 a.m.), 21st Nov(as pre festival, lunch-2:00 a.m.) and 22nd Nov(lunch-2:00 a.m.).

The typical aspect of Tori no ichi is to celebrate its festival between mid-night and early morning. This is slighly different aspect compared to the other festivals.

For transport access, I recommend you to visit Hanazono Shrine Tori no ichi from Ikebukuro on the evening and then back to your accommodation by Mid-night for easy access.