The Hikiyama Festival is held every May 3rd in the small town of Yatsuo, in Toyama Prefecture. Lasting all day, the festival consists of six wooden floats being pushed, pulled, & dragged throughout the winding streets of the traditional-style, old town. At night, the floats are covered in thousands of lanterns & slowly pushed back up the hilly streets to a local shrine. Crowds gather to watch the floats and to sample food from the street vendors. Traditional Japanese music can be heard around the town during the festival.
Yatsuo is a small, mountain town famous for paper making. The festival dates back to the Edo Period, and the massive wooden floats have been preserved since that time. The streets are marked by decades of scuffs and scratch marks caused by the heavy wooden wheels being pulled throughout the town.
Jonathan Jahnke @jonathan.jahnke
After teaching English in Toyama from 2004 - 2005 & visiting off & on again for the next 8 years, I decided to move here permanently in 2014. I love exploring the cities, festivals, countryside, & culture of this beautiful country.
