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Every October in the lunar calendar (November in solar), all 8 million gods of Japan are said to gather at Izumo Taisha for the Kamiari-sai (Gods Gathering Festival). The festival week brings special rituals, ancient dances (kagura), and ceremonies in the inner precincts accessible to the public โ a once-a-year spiritual spectacle.
Each July 20-27 during the Yasaka Shrine festival, dancers dressed as white herons in elaborate feathered costumes perform the ancient Sagaichล dance through Tsuwano's preserved carp-filled streets โ a tradition dating to the 15th century that has survived almost unbroken. The graceful procession through the willow-lined waterway is uniquely beautiful.
Launched from the banks of the Gono River in Gotsu city each August, this intimate fireworks festival fires 3,000 shells in 90 minutes above the river's calm surface. The riverside setting โ mountain silhouettes reflecting in the water, the crowd pressed along both banks โ gives it a particularly beautiful and accessible atmosphere.
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