Heralding the arrival of the summer farming season, the Narita Gion Festival has been a key celebration of Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple in Chiba prefecture's Narita City for over 300 years. Taking place near the Narita International Airport, this event is held annually to pray for prosperity and good harvest while seeking the blessing of the temple’s main deity, Fudo Myoo.
On all three days, ten beautifully carved and decorated floats plus one mikoshi (portable shrine) will be taken on a vibrant parade on the city streets, including the area surrounding JR Narita Station and the main road leading to Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple. The festivities begin on Friday July 5 with an opening dance ritual at Naritasan Main Hall at 1.30pm to pray for the safe proceedings of the festival. From there, the floats will begin their procession around town, with each having its own designated route.
The festival highlights include a large-scale traditional dance performance involving all the floats, set to happen in front of the JR Narita Station on Saturday July 6 at 9am. This event effectively kicks off the festival’s second-day festivities.
Be sure to stay until the evening on the last day, Sunday July 7, as the festival will reach its climax with floats reconvening on Omotesando road for an energetic race up the town’s main thoroughfare towards Naritasan Shinsho-ji. For this night procession, the floats will be illuminated with lanterns, giving them an even more awe-inspiring and mystical appearance amidst the frenzy.
For the full festival programme, see the event website.
Despite being 80km away from central Tokyo, the Narita Gion Festival is easily accessible as the events are held just minutes away from Keisei-Narita station. To get there, just hop on the limited-express Keisei Line from Ueno or Nippori Station. The journey will take roughly an hour and ten minutes. The trek from Narita Airport is far more conveinent, as there is a direct train service running every 15 minutes.