3 Great Float Festivals in Kanto Region

Great festivals near Tokyo you should not miss

When floats from neighboring towns encounter each other, they say “Oooi” “Oooi” to each other. From Chichibu Yomatsuri Festival in December 2022 — Photo by Author

Have you been to festivals in Japan? During the pandemic, many festivals were canceled but luckily this year, many festivals were held again (although the parades were shorter than usual). I had the chance to join all 3 big float festivals in the Kanto region this year.

I’d been to Kawagoe Matsuri years ago but both Sawara and Chichibu big float festivals were the first time for me. Chichibu Yomatsuri at the beginning of this month was absolutely the highlight of this year.

These 3 festivals are all registered under the ‘intangible cultural heritage of humanity’ (重要無形民俗文化財,じゅうようむけいみんぞくぶんかざい）in Japan and also in UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.

Here are some pictures and characteristics of each float festival.

1. Sawara Big Float Festival （佐原大祭, さわらたいさい）in Katori-city, Chiba prefecture

The festival is held 2 times per year. The Summer Festival (Yasaka Jinja Gion-sai) is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after July 10th. The Autumn Festival (Suwa Jinja Akimatsuri) is held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the second week of October.

The festival has been around for more than 300 years and is known for Sawara Hayashi, one of the top 3 Japanese festival tunes.

The festival had 13 floats this year, each decorated with a doll figure of someone of historical importance on the top. The best part was to see what is called Hikimawashi where the floats make a big turn at the intersection along the historical buildings, leaving scratches on the road with the stone/wood wheels.

We went to the one in October and didn’t stay until late at night since it started to rain but it would have been beautiful to see the floats at night with lights. Among the 3 big float festivals, this one is usually the least crowded.

Located in Sawara, Katori city in Chiba, a small river called Onogawa, a tributary from Tonegawa river runs in the center of where Sawara Big Float Festival takes place. Photo by Author.

One of the 13 big floats running around here and there. Photo by Author.

2. Kawagoe Matsuri (川越祭り、かわごえまつり) [Formally, Kagawagoe Hikawa Matsuri Dashi Event (川越氷川祭 山車行事, かわごえひかわまつり だしぎょうじ）] in Kawagoe city, Saitama prefecture

Kawagoe Matsuri Dashi float — 2 story float. Photo by Author

This festival is held by Kawagoe Hikawa Jinja shrine for its autumn festival. It has a history of 370 years and is probably the most crowded among the three float festivals. Also, floats compete with each other when they meet (ohayashi music battle).

According to the festival website, October 2022’s Kawagoe Matsuri attracted 574,000 visitors with 29 gorgeous floats.

I was there at night too when they had the ladder performance. It was way too crowded, I couldn’t move at all and I was quite scared. It could have led to a dangerous stampede like the Itwon accident in South Korea. I will probably refrain from watching the ladder performance next time. It was too dangerous.

3. Chichibu Matsuri Festival （秩父祭り, ちちぶまつり）(Since the light up is more famous, it’s called Chichibu Yomatsuri, 秩父夜祭) in Chichibu, Saitama

This festival is held on December 2nd and 3rd every year. It has the largest floats among 3 big floats festival. One weighs more than 10 tons. Like the other two, its history dates back more than 300 years.

Unlike other Daishi floats that are kept as-is and stored in the warehouse, Chichibu’s floats are called Yatai and are larger than Dashi floats. They are assembled and disassembled without nails at every festival so it takes a lot of work.

Thanks to Otsuka-san for explaining the Yatai float, how heavy it is and how long it takes to assemble one — Photo by Author

Another interesting thing about Chichibu Matsuri is the yatai is set it up like a stage with a Kabuki play.

Yatai floats can be set up like a stage, one each on the sides. Kabuki play at Chichibu Matsuri — Photo by Author

If you love festivals, be sure to mark your calendar for 2023 to see Kanto’s top 3 big float festivals.

Happy Holidays!