Chichibu Floats & Fireworks Festival

Chichibu Floats & Fireworks Festival (Yomatsuri) is the grand annual festival of Chichibu Shrine in Saitama Prefecture. Designated a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, it serves as a spectacular thank you to the local deities, showcasing six immense, highly decorative parade floats that are ceremonially moved through the cold winter streets. This historic display acts as a significant final cultural event before the close of the calendar year.

The festival’s major attraction is the ascent of these six majestic floats. Draped in thousands of lanterns, the floats are pushed up a steep, 25-degree hill known as Dango Hill (Dangozaka). The entire two-hour process of pushing the floats is synchronized with a roughly 2-hour spectacular fireworks display.