Held annually on 3–4 May, Hakata Dontaku Port Festival is among the highest-attended festivals in all of Japan. Participants in traditional costumes parade through the city beating shamoji rice paddles in a custom unique to the event. Dozens of performance stages and floats animate the streets of Fukuoka's downtown, celebrating the city's merchant heritage dating back to the Edo period.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Spring
- Month
- Early May
- Region
- Kyushu
- Prefecture
- Fukuoka
- City
- Fukuoka
Highlights
- ◆Massive street parade with thousands of costumed participants
- ◆Shamoji rice-paddle percussion performances
- ◆Multiple outdoor stages with traditional dance and music
- ◆Free to watch along the main Meiji-dori parade route
- ◆Evening illuminations around Hakata Port