Kohata Hata Matsuri (Kohata Flag Festival)

Kohata Hata Matsuri (Kohata Flag Festival)

The annual Kohata Hata Matsuri (Kohata Flag Festival) is one of three main festivals in Japan centered on a dramatic procession of large flags, and has been held for over 960 years. The five hues of the brightly-colored flags rising up towards the sky makes for some fantastic views. Kohata Flag Festival, which has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, is held annually on the first Sunday of December.

Mt. Kohata, for which the Kohata suburb of Nihonmatsu is named, is home to the impressive Okitsushima Shrine. This is where the festival is completed once the attendees have brought the flags up the mountain to make an offering at the shrine complex. The festival route involves wandering through a series of back roads and woodland paths, making it a considerably longer journey than the usual steps that lead to the shrine.

The festival typically begins with speeches from local dignitaries at 8am, with the flag procession departing the Kohata Community Center at 8.30am. Accounting for several breaks on the parade route, the flags arrive at Okitsushima Shrine shortly before 1pm in the afternoon, so it's worth bringing food and drink to recharge your energy during the journey. The footing in the woodland can be slippery in early December, so visitors might consider shoes with good grip.

 

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttps://www.city.nihonmatsu.lg.jp/page/page002796.html
Best Season
  • Winter
Access Details
AccessMt. Kohata, Towa-machi, Nihonmatsu City
View directions
Getting there

By Train: From Nihonmatsu Station (on the JR Tohoku Main Line), take a bus heading for Kohata (木幡) for 45 min. Get off outside Kohata Daiichi Shogakko (木幡第一小学校), and from there walk 20 minutes.

By Car: 20 min drive from the Nihonmatsu I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway.

Parking is available at the Kohata Community Center, with some limited parking available by Okitsushima Shrine or on the parade route. (Once the festival is finished, the return journey from the shrine to the community center takes about 50 minutes on foot.)

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How I Joined the Kohata Flag Festival

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