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Each November Kenrokuen's gardeners begin erecting the yukitsuri snow-protection ropes โ hundreds of elegant hemp cords fanned from tall poles to cradle pine and cherry branches against the weight of Hokuriku snow โ transforming the garden into one of Japan's most iconic winter scenes. The combination of fresh snowfall on rope-protected trees and the frozen kotoji lantern reflected in the iced pond is a vision that appears on a thousand Japanese calendars.
Held the first weekend of June, Kanazawa's biggest festival commemorates Lord Maeda Toshiie's 1583 entry into the city with a spectacular 3-km procession of 13,000 participants in period costumes โ samurai, court ladies, townspeople โ through the historic Higashi Chaya and Kenroku-en districts. Traditional Noh, kaga lion dances, and taiko accompany the procession.
Held in late August across two nights, the Wajima Grand Festival (Wajima Taisai) sees enormous lacquered festival floats โ mikoshi and dashi decorated with intricate urushi lacquerwork worth millions of yen โ paraded through the narrow streets of the port town by chanting crowds. The festival is as much a showcase of Wajima's lacquerware mastery as it is a religious celebration, and the torchlit evening parade is genuinely spectacular.
The Noto Kiriko festival series runs from July through October across dozens of fishing villages on the Noto Peninsula, each town bringing out its own towering kiriko โ giant illuminated rectangular lantern floats up to 15 metres tall that are carried by teams of young men through the dark streets to the beach. The sight of dozens of glowing painted lanterns bobbing through a coastal village at midnight, accompanied by taiko drums and chanting, is one of the most primal and unforgettable festival experiences in Japan.
Kanazawa's largest festival commemorates the 1583 entry of Lord Maeda Toshiie into the city, and the three-day celebration in early June features a stunning procession of 13,000 participants in full Edo-period costume โ samurai, court ladies, geisha, musicians, and retainers โ winding through streets that feel genuinely transported to another era. Book accommodation months in advance as the city fills to capacity for this extraordinary spectacle.
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