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Listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Chichibu Night Festival on December 2โ3 features four enormous wooden floats (yatai) hauled by hundreds of men through lantern-lit streets to Chichibu Shrine. The floats โ some weighing 20 tonnes โ are lit from within, and a spectacular 6,000-shell fireworks display launches over the wintry mountains at midnight.
One of Japan's three great float festivals โ enormous lantern-lit floats hauled through the winter streets of Chichibu to the sound of taiko drums on December 2โ3.
Every AprilโMay this hillside near Chichibu erupts in a carpet of pink, white, and purple moss phlox (shibazakura) โ one of Japan's most striking floral landscapes.
Every October, ornate Edo-period festival floats parade through the Little Edo streets while competing musical groups play hayashi music โ a UNESCO Intangible Heritage festival.
A month-long celebration of the famous moss phlox bloom at Hitsujiyama Park, with food stalls, folk performances, and easy train access from Chichibu.
A month-long festival in the Ogose plum grove combining traditional performances, tea ceremony demonstrations, and photography contests against a backdrop of 35,000 blooming trees.
One of Japan's most important shrines, Omiya Hikawa Shrine holds its Grand Festival (Reitaisai) every August 1โ3. The centrepiece is an ancient mikoshi procession involving 100 portable shrines carried through the city โ along with traditional music, dance performances, and ceremonial offerings at the 2,400-year-old shrine complex.
An ancient fire festival at Hikawa Shrine in Saitama City marking the New Year season โ one of the Kanto region's most traditional shrine celebrations.
Over 35,000 plum trees burst into bloom from late January to March in this vast grove at the foot of the Kanto Mountains โ ideal for a winter day trip from Tokyo.
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