The Takayama Festival is a very popular event, visited by several hundred thousand
people across Japan and the world. The date of first Takayama Festival goes back to
16th century. The festival is held twice a year, one in Spring and one in Autumn. The
next one will be on 9-10 October in old town of Takayama-Japan. Takayama Festival
is also called Hachiman Festival and it has unique attractions and schedules.
Main attractions of the Takayama Festival:
Display of festival floats (9 a.m-4 p.m): In both festival days, between these hours
the festival floats (yatai) are displayed in the streets of Takayama.
Karakuri Performance (11 a.m-3 p.m): Several of the festival floats are decorated with
“Karakuri Ningyo”, sophisticated mechanical dolls that can move and dance. Karakuri
doll performances are held on both days of the festival.
Mikoshi Procession (6 p.m-9 p.m): A portable shrine (Mikoshi) is carried around the
town in a parade during the two days of the festival, starting and ending at the
respective festival’s shrine. The mikoshi contains the shrine’s kami (Shinto Deity). The
festival is the only time of the year when the deity leaves the shrine to be carried around
town.
Evening Festival (6 p.m-9 p.m): In the evening of the first day, the festival floats are
pulled through the streets of Takayama's old town for about two to three hours. The
evening festival (yomatsuri) is considered the festival's highlight by many visitors.
Also, through the year, floats used in the festival are exhibited in Takayama Festival
Floats Exhibition Hall.
Since the city gets really crowded during and even before the festival, it might not be
easy to find an available hotel room to stay. So hurry up and book your rooms online
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