Kutchan Potato Festival

The Kutchan Potato Festival is Kutchan Town's signature summer festival. It began in 1948 as a festival to celebrate a good harvest of potatoes, a specialty of Kutchan Town, and to give thanks to farmers. Events include the "Sennin Odori" dance, in which 1,000 dancers dressed in yukata parade through the streets; the "Potato Janjan Tori" dance, in which participants bag potatoes within a time limit; and the traditional "Awa Odori" dance from Tokushima Prefecture, the birthplace of the pioneer of Kutchan's development.