Shirakawa Daruma Market is held annually on February 11. On this date, the streets become lined for 1.5 km with stalls selling Daruma of all shapes and sizes. This lively, exciting market celebrates the culture and history of Shirakawa Daruma – a traditional doll which is characterised by having cranes for eyebrows, a tortoise for a moustache, beard made of bamboo, and pine and plum branches for cheeks, all of which make it a very auspicious item to keep at home.
| Website | http://www.city.shirakawa.fukushima.jp/page/page008058.html |
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| Contact | Shirakawa Tourism & Local Products Association |
| Best Season |
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| Opening Hours | Date: 2023/02/11 |
| Access | Tenjin-machi, Naka-machi, and Hon-machi in Shirakawa City View directions |
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| Getting there | Close to Shirakawa Station (JR Tohoku Main Line) |
A rural landing field located 10 km Northwest of central Fukushima City. Starting with the Azuma Mountain range, the beautiful mountain vistas surrounding this massive location will leave you mesmerized. In addition to aircraft take-off and landing practice, it is possible to use the Fukushima Sky Park for various events. It is widely used for music events, automobile and motorcycle test drives, and a test venue for public organizations.
Established in 1836, the Yoshinoya family has been continuing the production of Enobori banners using traditional techniques. Originally the family business was a kimono shop, however, the side business of painting Enobori banners began to grow until is eventually became their main business.These banners typically feature images of warriors and can be quite complex with their designs. They are made by painting on banners with a type of calligraphy ink.To create clean and uniform design, stencils are made from various materials to be used as a guide for the design. Once the basic design is painted with a stencil, you connect the lines and add fine details by hand.As a nod to a famous Sukagawa person, they began creating a design of Ultraman posing as a samurai warrior! You can try out the traditional banner making method explained above to create tote bags and small banners featuring a variety of samurai and Ultraman samurai designs.©円谷プロ
Try matcha green tea in a traditional tea house in Suirakuen Garden, located inside Nanko Park. Suirakuen Garden is also a popular place to visit for its fall foliage.
The Bandai-Azuma Skyline is one of the top cycling routes of Japan! The route brings cyclists through dense green forests to volcanic terrain and sweeping views of Fukushima city and the volcanic peak of Mt. Kofuji, or “Little Fuji”. In autumn this course is warmed by vibrant autumn leaves, that make for a magical ride! Fukushima has routes for cyclists of all levels! Click here for more information about Cycling Courses and Events in Fukushima! (Click here to read our blog about cycling the scenic Bandai-Azuma Skyline!)
One of the largest scale events in the prefecture, this fireworks show features stunning firework displays, a hanabi-e-maki performance which combines music and fireworks, and displays from firework masters throughout Japan. Around 10,000 fireworks can be enjoyed during this 1.5 hour event.
At Usokae Festival, held in Iizaka Onsen Town, visitors buy lucky, hand-carved, wooden birds called ‘Usokae’. ‘Usokae’ translates as ‘changing lies’. Visitors who buy an Usokae bird must think of a ‘lie’ – i.e. something they don’t want to happen – which will in turn be changed to good luck to make sure that thing doesn’t occur by the birds by the end of the year. For example, you could think “I won’t pass my school exam” when you buy the bird, and by the end of the year, the bird will help you pass it! This is a unique local festival, and the hand-carved Usokae birds make very charming gifts too!
Each year from mid-October to mid-November, an impressive collection of dolls adorned with chrysanthemum flowers (known as ‘kiku ningyo’) are on display at the Kasumigajo Castle Grounds in Nihonmatsu City, for one of Japan’s salient Chrysanthemum festivals. The city prides itself in its cultivation and cherishing of chrysanthemums, the National Flower of Japan. Several places in the city are adorned with chrysanthemums during the festival period.Kasumigajo Castle, also known as Nihonmatsu Castle, was destroyed during the Boshin War in the 19th century. Visitors can climb up the castle ruins, of which only the walls remain, and enjoy a view of Nihonmatsu City from above. The castle was made into a prefectural natural park and is beautifully preserved, with many cherry blossom trees and flowers in bloom in the spring, as well as stunning foliage in the fall.
With a history stretching back over 400 years, the Taimatsu Akashi is one of the three major fire festivals in Japan. As the night grows darker and the bonfires flare brightly here and there around the venue, groups of local junior high and senior high school students march through the town carrying 30 8-meter-long wooden torches called Hon-taimatsu, which they created by themselves, followed by a group of young men carrying the huge wooden torch called the Dai-taimatsu (10 meters long and weighing about 3 tons), and a group of women carrying a smaller wooden torch called the Hime-taimatsu (6 meters long and weighing 1 ton). These torches are carried to the top of Mt. Gorozan.There is also a wooden frame depicting Sukagawa Castle and a group of samurai warriors. As the drummers from Oushu Sukagawa Taimatsu-Daiko Hozonkai powerfully beat their Taimatsu-Daiko drums, the torches and the wooden frame are lit with a sacred fire carried up by a group of runners from Nikaido Shrine. The whole mountain looks as if it is on fire. The combination of fire and the beating of the drums is reminiscent of the days in the Warring States period.In recent years, this traditional event has become well known as a participatory festival, allowing neighborhood associations, local elementary school pupils, and tourists to join the parade to Mt. Gorozan, each carrying a thin torchwood called a Sho-taimatsu (10 cm in diameter).