[Tosashimizu City, Kochi Prefecture] The 62nd Ashizuri Festival [Held on August 3rd!]

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We will introduce the Ashizuri Festival, a major event that colors the summer in Tosashimizu City. This historic festival, which will be held for the 62nd time this summer, features the "Ashizuri Dance" where people parade through the shopping district to the tune of Ashizuri Ondo, a food stall vill...

Written by

Hata Region Tourism Bureau

The Hata region of Kochi Prefecture is located at the southwestern tip of Shikoku, and is a peninsula that juts out into the Pacific Ocean, facing Tosa Bay to the east and Bungo Channel to the west. It is made up of three cities, two towns, and one village: Hara Village. It is a natural powerhouse rich in blessings, including the nationally famous Shimanto River and Cape Ashizuri, the blessings of the Kuroshio Current that flows along the coast, and the blessings of mountains that boast the largest area of forests in the country.

Introduction

The Ashizuri Festival, a major event that marks the height of summer in Tosashimizu City, will be held on Saturday, August 3rd.
This year, the traditional performing art "Ashizuri Dance" will be revived for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this article, we will introduce the details and highlights of the 62nd Ashizuri Citizen Festival.

Table of Contents
Overview of the 62nd Ashizuri Citizen Festival
Highlight 1: The "Ashizuri Dance" is making a comeback for the first time in five years since 2019
Highlight 2: "Yataimura" - Local specialties and festival staples lined up
Highlight 3: The spectacular overhead fireworks display
How to get to the "Ashizuri Festival"
Important points to note at the Ashizuri Festival
Related Links
Accommodation information links

Overview of the 62nd Ashizuri Citizen Festival

Poster

Venue

Tosashimizu City Chuocho Shopping Street (Food Stall Village and Ashizuri Dance)

Around Motomachi Wharf, Tosashimizu City (food stalls and fireworks venue)

Event Schedule

Saturday, August 3, 2024 (rain or shine)

Alternative Schedule

If inclement weather is forecast on August 3, 2024, the event will be postponed to the following day, August 4 (Sunday) .
If there is bad weather on August 4th, the event will be postponed to August 24th (Saturday) .

schedule

From 16:00

Opening event: Kirara Shimizu Nursery School children open the Taiko Yatai Village

From 16:30

Ashizuri Dance (Chuomachi Shopping Street)

From 8pm

Fireworks display starts (overhead fireworks)

Around 8:50 p.m.

Fireworks festival end

Highlight 1: The "Ashizuri Dance" is making a comeback for the first time in five years since 2019

The " Ashizuri Dance " was created exactly 70 years ago in 1954, when Tosashimizu City was founded, and choreographed by a choreographer to the " Ashizuri Ondo" song , whose lyrics and music were written by local volunteers.

In the past, the sight of many dancers parading to the tune of Ashizuri Ondo from Echigo Port to Shimizu Port, two fishing ports in Tosashimizu city, was a staple of the Ashizuri Festival. However, in recent years, the number of dancers has decreased due to aging and population decline, and the Ashizuri Festival was canceled for two years due to the spread of the new coronavirus. After that, restrictions were relaxed and the festival was reduced to just a fireworks display from 2022 to 2023.

However, even though the number of dancers has decreased, the "Ashizuri Dance", which has been handed down with great care in the local area, will be revived this year for the first time in five years .

This year marks the event's return for the first time in five years, and four teams - a nursery school team, a hospital staff team, a dance studio, and Yosakoi Team Inan - will participate and parade through the shopping district.

The choreography of the "Shojo Ashizuri Dance" is so simple that anyone can dance it, from kindergarteners to the elderly.
At the end of the event, everyone in the venue will join in dancing to the "Shocho Ashizuri Ondo."

Introduction to Ashizuri Ondo

Highlight 2: "Yataimura" - Local specialties and festival staples lined up

Yatai (food stalls) are an indispensable part of festivals.
At the Ashizuri Citizens' Festival, there will be a food stall village featuring restaurants and other establishments from the local city of Tosashimizu, as well as many food stalls offering classic Japanese festival menus.

Please feel free to use this as a base to enjoy not only snacks while walking around, but also as an accompaniment to the Ashizuri dance and overhead fireworks displays.

Highlight 3: The spectacular overhead fireworks display

In recent years, the festival's most popular attraction is the overhead fireworks display, which attracts enthusiastic fans from as far away as the Kansai and Chugoku regions.

You can see the fireworks from just 150m away from the launch site.

At the climax, you can enjoy a literal "fireworks display overhead" that seems to cover the entire night sky.
We hope you will look forward to it this year as well.

How to get to the "Ashizuri Festival"

By private car

Kochi direction: Approximately 140km from Kochi city center
Using the Kochi Expressway and the toll-free sections, it usually takes about two and a half hours to reach downtown Tosashimizu.

Matsuyama direction: Approximately 180km from Matsuyama city center
Using the Matsuyama Expressway and the toll-free section, it usually takes about three and a half hours to reach downtown Tosashimizu.

Please see here for the detail.

How to get to Tosashimizu City (Tosashimizu City Hall)

The only major road in Tosashimizu City is National Route 321, which connects Kochi and Matsuyama.
We expect the event to be busy, so please allow yourself plenty of time.

For parking information, please check the official website of the Ashizuri Festival.

Arisu Festival Official Website

By public transport

The nearest train stations to Tosashimizu are in the neighboring city of Shimanto (Tosa-Nakamura Station) and the city of Sukumo (Sukumo Station).
There are bus routes from both stations to Shimizu Plaza Pal, which is close to the Ashizuri Festival venue.
Please use that.

If you would like to check the timetable or have any inquiries, please contact Kochi Southwest Transportation.

Kochi Southwest Bus Route Bus

Important points to note at the Ashizuri Festival

The Ashizuri Citizens' Festival is one of the largest events held in Tosashimizu City.
To begin with, Tosashimizu City is a small town with a current population of 11,000, but in a normal year it attracts several times that number of visitors.

A crowded fireworks venue

As a result, the venue will be very crowded, so please take note of the following points.

①The novel coronavirus infection is currently spreading in Kochi Prefecture. Therefore, we ask for your cooperation in preventing the spread of infection by wearing a mask depending on the congestion situation.

②Please be careful of pickpockets, purse snatchers, molesters, and other criminal acts in crowded venues.
If you have experienced or witnessed such an act, please inform staff or police officers on patrol.
Please call 110.

③ Extremely hot weather is expected during the event. Please drink plenty of water and take care to avoid heatstroke.
If you begin to feel unwell, please inform people nearby, staff, or police officers.
In addition, please refrain from parking on the streets around the venue, as this will make it difficult to deal with any problems, such as emergency vehicles not being able to enter.

④ Nuisance behavior such as littering the venue or the sea, smoking outside designated smoking areas, and underage drinking are also prohibited.
Please be aware that staff or police officers on patrol may approach you and ask you to leave.

In addition to the above, we ask that you enjoy the Ashizuri Citizens' Festival by following the rules and etiquette.

Accommodation information links

Tosashimizu City Tourism Association Accommodation Information

Tosashimizu City Homepage Accommodation Information Page

Written by

Hata Region Tourism Bureau

Kochi

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