Cultural Experiences
Green Tea Experience at Suirakuen Garden
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.
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Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival
The Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival is held yearly on the first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of October.
The main night of the 2024 festival (with all the lantern floats in one place) was held on Saturday 5th October, with smaller festival events held on Sunday 6th and on Monday 7th.
The highlight of the festival is the procession of festival floats during the first evening. Seven large festival floats adorned with lanterns and filled with locals playing taiko drums make their way through the streets of Nihonmatsu City, filling the streets with festival music as they move. The final destination for the floats is the Nihonmatsu Shrine.
The festival traces its roots back to 1643, when Niwa Mitsushige became the lord of the Nihonmatsu clan. Believing that fostering religious piety was a core tenet of strong government, Lord Niwa had Nihonmatsu Shrine built the following year, and opened its gates for anyone in the domain to visit. It’s said that in the first festival, the young people of the town carried a portable shrine (mikoshi) through the streets - in an era where there was a strict class system in place, encouraging widespread religious fervour in this sense was a progressive approach.
As a result, historians say the local people came to greatly love and respect their lord, and before long the festival grew into a magnificent spectacle including dancing, huge drumming floats and hanging lanterns. The tradition has continued to this day, where the beautiful illuminated floats rolling through the streets is the backbone of an important yearly event for local people.
Venue Details
| Website | https://www.city.nihonmatsu.lg.jp/page/page002784.html |
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| Contact | Nihonmatsu Tourism Federation (+81) 243-55-5122 |
| Best Season |
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| Entrance Fee | Free |
| Related info | 2024 Dates: October 5 (Saturday), 6 (Sunday), and 7 (Monday). Held every year on the first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of October. Day 1: The day when you can see all seven lantern floats lined up together. Day 2: The day when the lantern floats are scattered throughout the town. Day 3: The day when the lantern floats are divided into groups of three and four around the town. *Please be aware that you cannot see all seven together on Day 2 & Day 3. |
| Access | 1 Chome-61 Motomachi, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Pref. 964-0917 View directions |
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| Getting there | By Car Nihonmatsu Station is 2 km from the Nihonmatsu I.C. exit off the Tohoku Expressway. Since some streets are barricaded off during festival time, and parking lots get full quickly, we recommend taking public transport to the festival. By Train From Tokyo: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Koriyama, then change to the Tohoku Main Line heading in the direction of Fukushima. Get off at Nihonmatsu Station. This journey takes around 90 minutes. From Sendai: Take the Tohoku Shinkansen from Sendai to Fukushima. Change to the Tohoku Main Line, heading in the direction of Koriyama Station and get off at Nihonmatsu Station. This takes 50 minutes. There is also a highway bus from Sendai which takes around 70 minutes to reach Nihonmatsu Station. Useful Links |
Nearby
Cultural Experiences
Sukagawa Enobori Yoshinoya Workshop
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
Outdoor Activities
JRA Fukushima Racecourse
The only Japan Racing Association racecourse in the Tohoku region. Enjoy the excitement of the seasonal races held during Spring, Summer and Winter, as well as the traditional Tanabata Prize in July. The racecourse also has other areas for enjoying yourself, including a children's play area and athletic facilities, making it a great place to come with the family.
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Fukushima Sky Park
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.
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