CHICHIBU QR TRAVEL GUIDE
Chichibu Night Festival
Festival
December 2 (Vigil) & 3 (Main Festival) / Chichibu Shrine area, Chichibu-shi
The Chichibu Night Festival is one of the top three float festivals in Japan, the others being the Kyoto Gion Festival and the Hida Takayama Festival. It is the principal festival at Chichibu Shrine, the main shrine in Saitama's Chichibu region.
Six floats (including 2 flower parasols) decorated with gorgeously colored carvings bring brilliant splashes of color to winter-time Chichibu.
On the evening of the 3rd, the paper lanterns decorating the floats are lit, casting a golden hue against the dusk sky.
The Chichibu Yatai Hayashi (musical accompaniment) brings the floats to life as they are drawn in procession up Dango Hill before fireworks bring the festival to its climax.