Location: Around Yugawara-Town
Kanagawa This Month - Latest Kanagawa Tourist Information
August 2008
Yugawara Onsen Yassa Festival : August 2 (Sat) to August 3 (Sun)
Events include Yassa Dance Parades (from in front of Yugawara Elementary School to Sakuragi Park on Saturday the 2nd and on Makuyama Park Road on Sunday the 3rd).
For details, contact the Yugawara-Town Tourist Division (Tel: 0465-63-2111)
Get off at Yugawara Station on the JR Tokaido Line
> Yugawara Spa
> Yugawara Yassa Festival
http://www.town.yugawara.kanagawa.jp/ (Japanese)
Oi Yosakoi Hyotan Festival : August 2 (Sat) to August 3 (Sun)
Location: Oi-Town / Oi-Town Hall parking lot and nearby roads
A zenyasai will take place on Saturday the 2nd, including taiko drum performances and dancing. Sunday the 3rd will feature brass band performances and dance performed in various locations.
For details, contact the Oi-Town Local Development Department (Tel: 0465-85-5013)
Approximately 12 minute walk from Kami-Oi Station on the JR Gotenba Line
Bonbori Festival : August 6 (Wed) to August 9 (Sat)
Location: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Yukinoshita, Kamakura-City
Approximately 400 writings and paintings on paper lanterns from famous Kamakura inhabitants will be displayed within the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine grounds. The paper lanterns will be lit up by candles at night, creating a mystical atmosphere. “Chinowa-kuguri,” a ritual where participants step through a large woven grass ring, will be held on the 6th as part of the Nagoshi (Summer) Festival. A festival to mark the first day of Autumn will be held on the 7th, and the Sanetomo Festival on the 9th.
For details, contact Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (Tel: 0467-22-0315)
Approximately 10 minute walk from Kamakura Station on the JR Yokosuka Line
> Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine
> Bonbori Festival
http://www.hachimangu.or.jp (Japanese)
Seiryu Festival : August 9 (Sat)
Location: Sports Park, Kiyokawa-Village
The Seiryu Festival is a reproduction of the festivals to pray for rain that used male and female “dragons” and were held in the Susugaya area of Kiyokawa-Village from the Tenpo Era of the Edo Period to the beginning of the Showa Period. Two dragons, each over 20 meters long, are made of Japanese yew branches and, after a ceremony is performed to imbue them with souls, they are paraded around the main area. The festival itself takes place in the evening, when the dragons are paraded about as if they are performing a solemn dance to the sound of Seiryu taiko drums. The main event is when a ceremony is held where the dragons seem to fly up into the sky. During the finale, fireworks are set off along with drum music, and the two dragons are burned, taking with them the hopes and wishes of all the visitors to the event.
For details, contact the Kiyokawa-Village Board of Education Executive Office (Tel: 046-288-1215)
Take the Miyagase-bound bus from the North Exit of Hon-Atsugi Station on the Odakyu Line and get off at Bessho Onsen Iriguchi (40 minutes)
Toya Lion Dance : August 9 (Sat)
Location: Suwa-jinja Shrine, Toya, Tsukui-Town, Sagamihara-City
Tsukui’s lion dances, which feature three “lions” (each performed by one person), have been passed down for over 300 years. In this event, the lions depart from Nakashita-bashi and proceed to Suwa-jinja Shrine along with a parade of flute players, lantern bearers, mikoshi (portable shrines), and dashi (floats). That evening, lion dances are performed within the shrine precincts.
For details, contact the Sagamihara-City Tsukui Economic Affairs Division (Tel: 042-784-1141)
Take the Toriibara Fureainokan-bound bus from the North Exit of Hashimoto Station on the Keio Line, JR Sagami Line, or JR Yokohama Line, and get off at Yubinkyoku-mae (45 minutes)
Hakone Daimonji-yaki : August 16 (Sat)
Location: Mt. Myojin peak, Hakone-Town
This event has been held since the Taisho Period. The character “dai,” meaning “large,” is lit up near the peak of Mt. Myojin. After it is set ablaze in the evening, fireworks are set off. Since the Great Kanto Earthquake, this event has also served as a ritual bonfire as part of Ura-bon, the festival of ancestors.
For details, contact the Hakone-Town Tourist Office (Tel: 0460-85-5700)
Take the Tozan Railway from Hakone Yumoto Station and get off at Gora Station
Kugenuma Kotai-jingu Shrine (Karasumori-jinja Shrine) Doll Floats : August 17 (Sun)
Location: Karasumori-jinja Shrine, Kugenuma-shinmei, Fujisawa-City
Doll floats of nine local shrine parishioners (Nasu no Yoichi, Minamoto no Yoritomo, Jinmu Tennou, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kusunoki Masashige, Urashima Tarou, Yamato Takeru no Mikoto, and Nintoku Tennou) will be assembled in the Karasumori-jinja Shrine precincts. In the afternoon, they will be carried to the shrine where the annual festival is held, and a matsuri-bayashi orchestral performance contest will take place.
For details, contact Karasumori-jinja Shrine (Tel: 0466-24-5590)
Take the Kouzan-shako-bound bus from the North Exit of Fujisawa Station, and get off at Karasumori Koen-mae (7 minutes)
> Kugenuma Kotaijingu Shrine Doll Floats
Yokohama Carnival : August 23 (Sat) to August 24 (Sun)
Location: Various locations around Yokohama Station and within the city
Hamakoi Odori, flashy and energetic dance performances with noisemakers, will be held near Yokohama Station and at various locations within the city. Approximately 70 teams are expected to participate over the two days. Other events include Hamakoi Odori Flame Dances, Hamakoi Odori Flame Dance West Exit SPECIAL!, and Hamakoi Odori Contests.
For details, contact the Yokohama Carnival Executive Committee (Tel: 045-319-2533)
Get off at Yokohama Station