Held in odd-numbered years on the first Saturday and Sunday of November, the Tochigi Autumn Festival is the city's grandest celebration and a showcase of the remarkable dashi float tradition that earned Tochigi its nickname 'Little Edo of the Kanto region.' Eight enormous floats, each three stories tall and elaborately carved and gilded, are pulled through streets flanked by Edo-period kurazukuri storehouses along the Uzuma River. Each float is topped by a different legendary or mythological figure and carries musicians playing traditional hayashi. The contrast of illuminated floats reflected in the canal waterways at dusk is one of the most atmospheric sights in Tochigi Prefecture.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Autumn
- Month
- Early November (biennial, odd-numbered years)
- Region
- Kanto
- Prefecture
- Tochigi
- City
- Tochigi
Highlights
- ◆Eight three-storey Edo-era dashi floats parading through Tochigi
- ◆Kurazukuri warehouse district along the Uzuma River as backdrop
- ◆Evening float illuminations reflected in canal waterways
- ◆Biennial event adding to its special anticipation
- ◆Designated Tochigi Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Property