Like A Native: Festival Fun for All

How to be a Native - Step Four

Celebrate summer: festival style.

Portable lighted displays.

If you want to have some fun in the city then visit Hachioji (八王子市) during their annual summer festival, which is the first weekend in August (Fri-Sun). It was held every year for 50 years until the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which caused it to be canceled for that year.

The fireworks as seen from my
balcony.

The festivities really begin about one week before the festival though when Fujimori Park has their fireworks show. Most of the fireworks are paid for by donations from local businesses. It starts out with fire walking (people walking over red hot coals) and then you can see both typical and special fireworks in the shapes of smiley faces, anime characters (Hello Kitty) and hearts.

The festival is huge, spanning from the heart of Hachioji (near the train station) and radiating out to the edges. It is mainly held along the street Route 20.

The festival is a celebration of traditional Japan, so you can see many people wearing yukatas (summer kimonos).

Traditional dancers dressed in
yukatas (summer kimono).

Part of the traditional experience includes Buddhist and Shinto religions, which provide dashi (parade floats) and mikoshi (portable shrines).

A dashi (parade float) used

for performances.

The dashi are pulled through the streets by volunteers during the day and in the evening hold performances. Each dashi competes with each other through the telling of stories where demons, dragons and spirits battle for the most dramatic performance.

A mikoshi (portable shrine).

The mikoshi are carried throughout the city. Certain clothing called happi is worn while pulling or carrying these floats/shrines.

The roads are closed for performances such as taiko drum shows, traditional dances, ice sculpting and more.

Female drum performance.

The sidewalks are filled with food, game and toy booths. The main foods sold are shaved ice, chocolate covered bananas, baked potatoes with butter, fried noodles and fried balls of octopus.

Drum performance.

You can win prizes at the game booths such as toys, phone accessories and even goldfish. You win goldfish by using a paper fan to try to “scoop” them into a bowl. The trick is to do it quickly enough so that the paper doesn’t disintegrate from the water and weight of the goldfish.