An annual summer festival is held on the second Saturday of July in Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture. During the festival, the city's honcho-dori comes to life with portable shrines, boisterous crowds, street food and children with balloons, cotton candy and glow sticks. The atmosphere is cheerful with the sound of taiko drums, the sounds of bamboo flutes, whistles and prayer lanterns mixed with cold smoke. Young people flirt with each other and grandparents hold hands with their children and grandchildren to fish for goldfish or eat yakisoba noodles. Come put on your yukata and join the parade now!
The festival is one of the largest events in the city (approximately 56,000 residents) and the city's residents prepare to go out and enjoy the bustling atmosphere of the night. The festival usually takes place on the street, mainly on Honcho Street, about a 5-minute walk northeast of Hanyu Station. This is a 500m long highway, usually a fairly quiet street, with stalls on either side bustling with hand-to-hand service. In addition to candy canes and fried noodles, you can also try festival foods like oden (hot pot), okonomiyaki (pizza), shaved ice, candy apples, baked potatoes and french fries, and more.
The festival has a 370-year history and has its origins in the Yagumo Shrine, which worshiped the gods and promoted peace in the region. Yagumo, a Shinto shrine, shares its name with many other shrines throughout Japan and is a descendant of Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, which was founded more than 1,000 years ago.
Today, the festival features lanterns, 11 mikoshi (portable shrines) moved by various groups in fun colorful coats and yukata, and lively dancing and music.
The city's summer festival is a quintessential Japanese experience that brings together the entire community and is not to be missed. Mingle with happy children, teenagers with rising emotions, adults happily connecting with their neighbors and elders reminding young people of traditional dances and holding hands, spinning in circles, raising their arms and with the next generation stomp your feet. You will definitely be mesmerized and dance with the crowd!
Thank you, Norihiro Togasaki, for writing this article.
