Furusato Matsuri Tokyo

Furusato Matsuri Tokyo is a 10 day festival held at Tokyo Dome. The event includes local food dishes and short demonstrations of local performances. Katie and I took the train up to Tokyo Tuesday morning. After a 30 minute detour caused by me getting us on the correct train line at the correct time, but going in the wrong direction… we finally found our way to Tokyo Dome. We followed the crowd to the ticket line. For ¥1400 we had all day access.

Despite the 30 minute delay, our timing was perfect! We arrived just as the Tatemon Festival was beginning their performance.

The Tatemon Festival is held on the first Friday and Saturday in August at the Suwa Shrine in the town of Suwa, Uozu. I took a picture of Google Maps to help identify where the festivals are located.

During the festival, offerings and dedications are presented at shrines to pray for a good haul of fish and safety at sea. The lanterns on the large structure have lobsters on them.

I took a short video of each group to help you appreciate the experience.

After this performance, Katie and I walked down to the floor area where the numerous food vendors were located. So many people and so many food choices!

It was easy to become overwhelmed walking around. We both rejoiced with glee when we saw the Baird Beer stand. A Wabi-Sabi IPA makes everything better. Kanpie!

We continued taking in the sights and found a giant Daruma doll. Who doesn’t need a little extra luck in the new year!?

By the time the next show started, we were directly in front of the performers. And no one was telling us to leave. We felt like we were breaking rules. But, no one seemed to care!

The second show was a folk story reenactment. From Kanazawa City, the Kagajishi is a story about a lion being chased out of the city.

The performers included the warriors who were fighting each other and the lion. Eventually, the lion was driven from the city.

After the performance, we walked around some more and selected a delicious fried snack. I realize now I didn’t take any pictures of my Festival food. We shared dumplings, croquettes, and a fried dough cheese stick. All were delicious. Although I did need a couple Tums by the time I got home!

Anyways, back to the festival. The third show was my favorite. This presentation was called the Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival and comes from Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture. Located in the very northern area of the main island, Honshu.

During the performance, the group moved the 23 meter tall statue weighing over 19 tons across the floor.

We had fantastic seats to watch as the giant Tachineputa floated its way through the performance arena. During the actual parade, more than a dozen of the Tachineputa are pulled through town!

By the time the fourth performance started, Katie and I were losing steam. The event was becoming more and more crowded. This made it difficult to find a seat and walk around without bumping into people. Katie and I agreed we started to feel like we were in a human pinball machine.

We decided to stay for one more performance. The last one we watched was the Tottori Shan-Shan Matsuri Festival. Tottori Prefecture is on southern end of Honshu.

The performance is conducted using “Shan-Shan gasa” or rice paper umbrellas.

In 2014, the Tottori Shan-Shan Festival celebrated the 50th anniversary. With over 4,000 participants, set a Guinness Book of World Record for the largest umbrella dance.

We only experienced a small portion of what the 10-day festival had to offer. It was great to be able to see festival demonstrations from areas further away where we might not have the opportunity to visit. I hope you enjoyed the videos!