Hi no matter how cold it is! 5 best winter festivals in Japa

2019-12-22

Japan is a country where many festivals are held all year round in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Especially in winter, festivals are held to comfort this year ’s prayers for the coming year, and the cold winter nights stage fantastic festivals. This time I will introduce 5 of them.

1. TokaEbisu Festival in Tokaichi (Osaka Prefecture)

Tokashiro is a festival held every year from January 9th to 11th, centered on Imamiya Shrine in Naniwa-ku, Osaka. Because it is a ceremonial event held on the 10th of the first month, it is called "Ten Rijong".

Imanomiya Shrine is a festival dedicated to the god of business prosperity, Ebisu God, and it has been popular in the city of Osaka, where business was flourishing since the mid-1600s. Even in modern times, this is an important festival for merchants in Osaka. One of the charms of Tokaichi is the lucky bamboo that brings good luck. Many people came to the temple specially, and wanted to get the lucky bamboo from Fu Niang. The Fu Niangs were women who were selected through review a few months before the ceremony. Be sure to hang a lot of ornaments on the bamboo, in order to bring luck.

The second charm is the row of roofs. The complete list of beauty foods in Osaka even makes people exclaim, "Is it necessary to be so complete!". Osaka ’s typical local food, takoyaki, and fried skewers, needless to say, using chopsticks to roll up “chopsticks rolls” like okonomiyaki, “egg pancakes” with fried eggs on pancakes, etc., Osaka cuisine It's everything. It is said that as many as 500 shops have set up rooftops, street stalls cannot be seen at an end. Don't have fun finding your favorite rooftop.

The third charm is the costume parade from Minami Ward to Imamiya Shrine. On January 10th, there will be entertainers and kabuki actors sitting in people's lifted cars and marching from the "Minami Ward" of Osaka's center to the area of Imamiya Shrine. Because celebrities can be seen up close, it has become a popular activity with a lot of atmosphere for tourists.

Tokaichi is full of energy. Be sure to come and experience it, you will be blessed at the beginning of the year.

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Nankai Takano Line Imamiya Ryo Station 1-minute walk

Subway Midosuji Line Daikokucho Station 5-minute walk

Subway Sakaisuji Line Ebisu Station 5-minute walk

2. Chichibu Night Festival (Saitama Prefecture) CHICHIBUNight Festival

"Chichibu Night Festival" is one of Japan's representative festivals, and it was selected as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016. Held every year from December 1st to 6th, especially the eve festival on December 2 and the festival on December 3, many tourists come to visit, and the streets of Chichibu are very lively.

The origin of the Chichibu Night Festival has a history of more than 300 years. Chichibu in the Edo period was a road fortress connecting large cities. Moreover, the sericulture industry is prosperous, and even famous products called "Chichibu silk" appear, and the whole city has become very lively. After the people of Chichibu worked hard to finish farming and raising silkworms, the festival held at the end of the year was the Chichibu Night Festival.

Luxurious huge floats are very famous and parade on the streets of Chichibu during the festival. Gorgeous floats, not using a nail, assembled entirely from wood, are works of art that show the superb skills of professionals. In addition, golden decorations and colorful carvings are also works of art commensurate with the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO. At night, the candles in the lantern are illuminated, and the dreamlike atmosphere is definitely worth a look.

The charm of floats is much more than that. First on December 2. This day is a eve festival warming up for the next day's activities. From the morning, people began to drag parade parades, the highlight is that float enthusiasts tried their best to stagger first. The floats are accompanied by traditional Japanese music accompaniment and dance, and the principle of using levers around the corners. The men make every effort to turn the stick, and the performance that changes the direction of the floats is also worth seeing. At this time, the float leans forward, as if the moment of bowing is the most lively and beautiful.

Then came December 3. From 9 am on this day, the floats parade in order. Daytime is the same as the night before. Chichibu ’s streets are lively, but at around 20pm, you can see that it is very different from the day before. After the floats paraded in sequence on the street, they boarded the steep slope "Tuanziban". The slope here is about 3m in length and the inclination is about 25 degrees. It is very difficult to drag a heavy float up. This is the biggest highlight of Chichibu Night Festival, so don't miss it. In addition, Tuanziban is very crowded, and sometimes there are restrictions on admission. Those who want to watch the parade recommend booking a fee-based viewing seat.

While the float is running on Tuanziban, a fireworks display will also be held. Chichibu ’s night sky is dotted with fireworks, the street music accompaniment and the men ’s shouts are even more noisy and warm.

The stage of this festival is also very convenient for visiting Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture from within Tokyo. From the terminal Ikebukuro station, take the Limited Express Chichibu train on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. It will take approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. Please come and experience "Chichibu", the festival site, this winter.

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Chichibu Railway Chichibu Station 3-minute walk

Seibu Chichibu Line Seibu Chichibu Station 10 minutes

3. Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaido)

The Sapporo Snow Festival is held in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, and is one of the world's most famous snow festivals. Many large snow sculptures will appear in Odori Park in the center of Sapporo, which will make the visitors' eyes full. The snow festival held in early February every year is one of the three largest snow festivals in the world, and the number of tourists during the period reaches 2 million.

This festival originates from a snow festival held in a local elementary school in 1950. At first, local junior high school students made snow sculptures. Later, citizens gradually began to actively participate, and now the scale is expanding. In particular, the Sapporo Olympic Games in 1972 became a turning point and became a snow festival that attracted widespread attention overseas.

There are many wonderful spots in the Sapporo Snow Festival, the most famous of which is the big snow sculpture in Odori Park. This is a huge snow sculpture created by the Land Self-Defense Force and the public. Its super shock power will become a hot topic every year.

It is recommended to watch the light carving projection at night. The interlacing of sound and light and shadow puts all the snow sculptures in a colorful world, giving visitors the ultimate visual enjoyment. Snow sculptures continue to shine from sunset (around 17:00) to about 22:00, presenting beautiful scenery.

The snow sculptures at Odori Park are also spectacular, but the ice sculptures at the other venues, the Susukino venue, are also highly recommended. The delicately carved ice sculptures create a dreamy atmosphere under the neon lights and lights of the bustling street.

In addition, skating at the skating rink attached to the venue and enjoying winter Hokkaido cuisine at the shops along the way is also a treat. Scallops, crabs, roast lamb, etc. are delicious and not greasy. Please come to Hokkaido for winter fun.

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Sapporo Municipal Subway Odori Station 1-minute walk

4. Yokote Snow Festival (Akita Prefecture) YOKOTESnow Festival

Akita Prefecture in the Tohoku region holds the "Yokote Snow Festival" every year in mid-February. This festival is composed of these two ritual activities, the "Igloo" with beautiful scenery spreading in the snow, and the "Brahma" where men show fierce skills to each other. It can be said that the festival is a contrast between static and dynamic.

The igloo is a 450-year-old traditional ritual characterized by a uniquely-shaped snow cave. Originally, it was a ceremonial worship of the gods. Children would drink sweet wine and eat rice cakes. At the Yokote Snow Festival, the scene of snow-covered igloos is beautiful and moving. In addition, in the evening, there will be a mini igloo with flickering candles on the riverbank flowing through the Yokote River in Yokote City. Be sure to enjoy it.

Brahma is the front end of a 5m-high log with a distinctive upper ornament. It is said to have been transformed from the flag when the fire was extinguished in the Edo period. Raising the huge "Brahma", from the center of Yokote to a shrine about 3km apart, the scenes of various towns showing their brave dedication are worth watching.

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10-minute walk from Yokote Station on the JR Oba Main Line

5. Tennen-ji Temple Correction Ghost Society (Oita Prefecture) Tennen-JiTemple Shujo Onie fire festival

Tennenji Revised Ghost Society is a bizarre festival held on January 7th of the lunar calendar every year in Tennoji, Bungo-Takada, Oita Prefecture. It is selected as a national important intangible folk cultural heritage and is a festival with high cultural value. The character who appeared was "Ghost". Many ghosts raised their torches, and the scene of devil dancing in the temple is worth watching.

In Japan, when it comes to "ghost", it feels like it has been destroyed, but you can recruit ghosts when you revise them. This festival was originally related to the Buddhist culture inherited in this area and is said to have been more than 1,200 years old. In folklore, ghosts turned out to be incarnations of Buddha. It is the purpose of this festival to greet God once a year, to avoid disease and disaster, and to obtain a good harvest.

On the day of the revised ghost meeting, monks chanted the scriptures from 15:00, and the ghosts appeared at around 22:00. The ghost ritual is very unique. Monks and villagers dance together and sometimes sing, creating an incredible space. After that, red and niggas appeared. The ghost first held several ceremonies, then held the torch and danced enthusiastically. Finally, the torch was waved, one by one, and the villagers and the people in the temple were upset. The atmosphere in the temple ushered in the climax of the activity. The presence and atmosphere at the time were special experiences that can only be felt here. Mars will be constantly splashing during the festival, please pay attention to your clothes.

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25 minutes by taxi from Usa Station on the JR Nippon Main Line

How about the 5 winter festivals? In addition to the festivals introduced here, there are many gorgeous festivals that add color to the cold winter days. Be sure to come to the festival and feel the rich Japanese style.