[Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture] Kawase Festival 2024 will be held on July 19th (Fri) and July 20th (Sat)

• Table of Contents
• What is the Kawase Festival?
• when?
• where
• How to get there?
• summary

What is the Kawase Festival?

The Chichibu Kawase Festival, held every year on July 19th and 20th, is the summer festival of Chichibu Shrine and is also known as "O-Gion" in Chichibu.

It is said to be a festival that contrasts with the winter Chichibu Night Festival, a daytime festival versus a night festival, a summer festival versus a winter festival, and a children's festival versus an adult festival. It is a festival centered around children, with the adorable children playing the main roles of the festival's kasaboko floats and floats, as well as the clappers with flower hats.

On the eve of the festival on July 19th, eight gorgeous kasaboko floats and floats are pulled around the town in the afternoon to the sound of Chichibu float music. In the evening, the floats and floats gather at Chichibu Shrine, where the Tennobashira Tate Shinto Ceremony is held to welcome Susanoo-no-Mikoto, who is enshrined at Hinomisakigu Shrine within the shrine grounds. The lights of the lanterns and paper lanterns that float up within the shrine grounds create a fantastical atmosphere.

At the grand festival on the 20th, the floats are pulled in the morning, and around noon the Kasaboko and floats that have gathered in the grounds of Chichibu Shrine depart for Okawase ahead of the divine procession. Around 2:30 pm, the Mikoshi Arai ceremony is held, in which the shrine's portable shrine, made of plain wood and weighing about 400 kg, is carried into the clear waters of the Arakawa River. At night, the floats are pulled along the main streets, and the highlights include the passing of each other and the parting of the floats.

See the Chichibu Shrine website for details

[Chichibu Shrine] The head shrine of the Chichibu region with a history of over 2000 years. It is one of the three Chichibu shrines along with Hodosan Shrine and Mitsumine Shrine, and has been revered as the head shrine of Chichibu since ancient times. The shrine building, rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1592, stands in a dignified and beautiful presence in the middle of a forest of hahaso trees in the center of Chichibu city. The shrine building is decorated with various carvings, and their beauty is stunning, each with its own story. The annual festival of Chichibu Shrine, the Chichibu Night Festival, is counted as one of Japan's three major float festivals, along with the Kyoto Gion Festival and the Hida Takayama Festival.

when?

Friday, July 19th to Saturday, July 20th, 2024
2024 Dedication Fireworks Schedule Single Fireworks Friday, July 19, 2024 19:30~ (approximately 30 minutes) Launch location: Hitsujiyama Park

where

Chichibu city, around Chichibu Shrine

How to get there?

■Train, bus, and walk Chichibu Railway - 3 minutes walk from Chichibu Station. Seibu Railway - 10 minutes walk from Seibu Chichibu Station ■Car 35km 50 minutes from Hanazono IC on the Kan'etsu Expressway via National Route 140

Where is the parking lot?

Chichibu City Miyaji Ground 19th (13:00-22:00) 20th (9:00-22:00)

View the traffic regulation map in PDF format

summary

The Kawase Festival is a religious ceremony and is held every year on July 19th and 20th.
This year the event will be held on Friday and Saturday, so don't miss this opportunity!
It's a festival with lots of stalls and fun.
Please be careful of heatstroke.
・Traffic restrictions will be implemented along the routes where the floats are pulled. Please cooperate by taking detours on the day.
・Flying drones or taking photographs at the Chichibu Kawase Festival (Kawase Funeral Hall, within the route of the portable shrine, Kasaboko, and float parades, at the fireworks venue, etc.) is prohibited.

For shaved ice, go to Yomidori

Ryokan located 8 minutes walk from Seibu Chichibu Station

©Mochida Photography Office

©Mochida Photography Office

©Mochida Photography Office

©Mochida Photography Office