One of Japan’s ‘big three’ float festivals – along with Kyoto’s Gion Festival and the Hida Takayama Festival – the Chichibu Yomatsuri is recognised as an event of intangible cultural heritage by Unesco. This festival takes place over two days and has been Chichibu’s main December event for over 300 years.
The gigantic floats that are the highlight of the festival are jaw-droppingly impressive. They are built without nails and embellished with ornate paper lanterns, gilded wood carvings and rich tapestries. On December 2, the beautiful floats will be on display at Chichibu Shrine between 1pm and 3pm.
On December 3 at 6.45pm, these larger than life structures are carried from the shrine grounds towards Chichibu’s City Hall, accompanied by the Chichibu Yatai Bayashi taiko drum performance. You’ll have the best views of these massive floats from the Chichibu Station area and along Seijin street.
Make sure to follow the floats until the end. You won’t want to miss the finale, which takes place at the plaza in front of the City Hall. There will be a massive fireworks display happening from 7.30pm to 10pm. It will most likely be the last fireworks of the year.
Festivities take place from 10am to 8pm on Friday and from 10.30am until around 12midnight on Saturday.