#festival

Our stories

Jan 16, 2018
2 min

Bridegroom Throwing in Matsunoyama Onsen

Someone once told me that the best festivals in Japan are the ones that are on a fixed date every year. These are the ones with long histories that are still going in the present day, as opposed to a weekend event for the tourists. January 15th each year is the Matsunoyama Mukonage, or Bridegroom Throwing. It has over 300 years of history, and is a small local festival full of charm. Newly wed grooms are paraded through the streets on the shoulders of their companions, carrie

Nov 14, 2017
5 min

N37 Snow Country Culture Workshop

We’ve spent the last couple of days on the fascinating Snow Country Culture Workshop Autumn Edition, during which time we have learned how to use rice straw to make various rope and storage, harvested daikon radishes, and made mochi in a traditional autumn festival. The tour started in Yukiguni Ryokan in Tsunan. Tsunan sits on the 37 degree parallel north latitude, which is the same as Athens, Sicily, and San Francisco. You don’t associate those places with the 3+ meters of s

Sep 20, 2017
1 min

Japanese Sweetfish – a taste of summer

Temperatures are cooling down and the season of summer festivals has almost come to an end for another year. One of the favourite summer snacks that appears at many festivals around here is the sweetfish (or ayu in Japanese) impaled on a wooden stick, covered in salt, and slow roasted over hot coals. It is one of those tastes in Japan that conjures up a whole season. Stand by the ayu stall and you will see much excitement from festival goers, and more of then than not, they w

Sep 16, 2017
2 min

Katakai Fireworks Festival

Katakai is a small village in Ojiya City in Niigata that hosts an amazing fireworks display on the the 9th and 10th of September each year. Katakai and Ojiya are not part of the Snow Country Tourism Zone, though being one of the big three summer fireworks festival in Niigata Prefecture (the other two being Nagaoka and Kashiwazaki) the Snow Country Tourism Office put on a bus trip up the expressway for anyone that was interested in seeing one of the biggest fireworks in the wo

Apr 27, 2017
2 min

Cherry Blossoms in Snow Country

The arrival of the cherry blossom season is a big event in the whole of Japan as it heralds the arrival of spring, and symbolises the fleeting nature of beauty. Spring is especially welcome in this region as it means another long winter of deep snow has been endured. If you are a keen photographer, here are a couple of suggestions of great places to see cherry blossom in Snow Country. This area tends to have them blooming while there is still snow around in the surrounding mo

Oct 4, 2016
1 min

Majidon Food Festival in Minami Uonuma

The new rice is being harvested at the moment so all the restaurants are full of diners enjoying this year’s koshihikari rice. There is also a food festival taking place at the moment which runs until the end of February, that takes advantage of this famous product from the region. 52 restaurants are taking part and each offers a large sized meal served on rice. The festival is called Majidon. Head over to this site to check out the guide book, and prepare for your mouth to w

Sep 12, 2016
3 min

Luxury Snow Country Tour

As well as the main Snow Country Tourist Information Office, each of the seven areas of the Snow Country Tourism Zone have their own Tourist Association (contacts for each of there here). All of these are working hard to ensure that visitors get to the see the best of the region. We’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak preview of a 5-star tour that they are trying to put together to highlight the unique way of life in the Snow Country Region. It is in the planning stage at the

Sep 7, 2016
1 min

Fall in Snow Country

August has ended and as we move into September it feels like summer is drawing to a close. People’s thoughts turn to the approaching winter, but before the deep snow comes we have fall, which is one of the best times to be in Snow Country. The rice is turning yellow in the fields in the bottom of the valley and it is almost time for harvesting. There will be festivals all over the region once the harvest is finished to give thanks for the new rice. The valley turning from dee

Aug 18, 2016
1 min

Suwa Shrine in Yuzawa

Suwa Shrine is the original shrine in Yuzawa, and although the exact date it was founded is unknown, it is thought to date back to the 1200s. The first written account of the temple is that is was rebuilt in 1402. The current temple was renovated in 1943, but the location was moved slightly when the shinkansen line was erected in 1974. As well as being one of the important historical landmarks in Yuzawa, Suwa Shrine also made an appearance in Kawabata’s Snow Country novel. Th

Aug 9, 2016
1 min

Summer Festival Season

We’re well into August and the heat of summer. If there is one thing that summer is famous for in Japan it is the festivals. Almost every little town and hamlet have a celebration of one kind or another throughout August. If you are in Snow Country this summer there are plenty from which to choose. If you have never experienced a Japanese summer festival before you are in for a treat. Think little stalls selling food on the street at night, people walking the streets in color

Jun 15, 2016
1 min

Uonuma City in Winter – video

Check out this great promotional video for Uonuma City. When the snow falls and the whole place is blanketed in white it might seem that there is nothing there, but like everywhere in Snow Country, it deserves a closer look. #uonuma #festival #winter #onsen #food

May 6, 2016
1 min

Tokamachi Kimono Festival

The coming of spring is a time of joy in Snow Country, and there are many festivals around the region that celebrate the sights and tastes of the new season. One of the most vibrant is the Tokamachi Kimono Festival. Tokamachi is famous for kimono material, and on May 3rd each year they close off several of the main streets in the center of town and welcome the coming of spring. People of all ages dress in traditional attire and stroll around the streets. There are food stalls

Mar 18, 2016
2 min

Tsunan Snow Festival & Sky Lanterns

The Tsunan Snow Festival takes place in March each year and we were lucky enough to go along on March 12th 2016. It is so popular that there is a whole series of different parking areas and shuttle buses to get you to the New Greenpia Tsunan festival location. During the day there is freestyle competition and then some big name musicians providing live music on the stage. Refreshments are provided at a large selection of food stalls. The highlight for many though is the Sky L

Mar 14, 2016
1 min

Bishamondo Naked Man Festival

The Naked Man Festival at Urasa’s Bishamondo is one of the highlights of the winter festival calendar. It has a long history, dating back hundreds of years and takes place in a really pretty setting. It is well-known as one of the strange festivals that are such a unique part of the experience in Japan. It takes place on March 3rd every year and is easily accessed as it is a short walk from Urasa Station which is on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line. As you walk up to the temple the

Feb 22, 2016
2 min

Tokamachi Snow Festival

The Tokamachi Snow Festival is one of the highlights of the winter event calendar in Snow Country. It is a whole weekend of snow-related fun in late February each year. A mild winter with a bit of rain before the event for the 2016 edition did nothing to damp the high spirits of the organizers or participants. There are different areas to the Snow Festival all over the town. It is a good idea to head to Tokamachi Station first to pick up one of the guide maps to make sure you

Feb 4, 2016
2 min

Purification for the Start of Spring

We were very privileged the other night to witness a Shinto ceremony at a sacred waterfall where pilgrims purify their spirits while standing under the icy waters. If that doesn’t sound cold enough, it all happens in the early hours of the morning in the middle of winter. The pilgrims set off from a local temple and walk through the snow in the dark to a mountain shrine. Perfectly quiet and with snow falling it was magical. Passing through the gate we followed a little path t

Jan 14, 2016
2 min

Snow Country Region Event Calendar – February

February is mid-winter in Snow Country, and also happens to be when some of the most interesting festivals take place. Here is a run-down of some of the ones happening around the region in what is normally the snowiest month of the year. (Taken from the Snow Country Freak site.) The Minami Uonuma City Snow Festival takes place in Muikamachi on 6th & 7th February。It is the 66th one this year and there is always lots going on. The Koide International Snow Ball Fight on February

Jan 13, 2016
3 min

Chinkoro Market Day Tour

The Snow Country Region Information Center arrange a program of special tours to allow visitors to see the best of the region and get to places they may not be able to get to on their own. They are great value, and entertaining days out. The Chinkoro Market Day Tour met at the Information Center at 9am. It was then straight down to the station to catch the 0917 Snow Rabbit train – an express service under the hill with no stops before Tokamachi. First call on the tour was the