Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

Yamagata is a sleepy town for much of the year but awakes each August with one of the largest festivals in the Tohoku region. It’s named after a traditional Japanese straw hat that’s decorated with artificial flowers, which are worn by thousands of dancers as they parade through the streets. A massive float of Zao Gongen leads the procession, accompanied by taiko drummers and the hypnotic spinning of hanagasa.

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

The main parade takes place in the evenings, with more than 10,000 dancers giving their unique take on the Hanagasa Dance. Towards the end of the parade, onlookers are encouraged to join in the celebrations, with free dance lessons offered in the lead up near the Yamagata Manabi-kan building. If you want to participate, you can either purchase a flower hat in Yamagata or make your own! Alternatively, you can join one of the hanagasa wind chime-making workshops or bring a tenugui (hand towel) to decorate with a print of Yamagata’s famous landmarks.

Yamagata can be accessed from Akita by a combination of bus and train. Board the Akita Shinkansen to Sendai Station (2 hours and 25 minutes), then head to the West Exit where buses depart for Yamagata Station (1 hour and 10 minutes).

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Official Website : Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

Yamagata Hanagasa Festival

Yamagata Hanagasamaturi

Yamagata Pref. Yamagatashi Tokamachi 1-chome

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