Shopping Guide
Summer in Japan is notoriously hot and humid, but at lively summer festivals things get even hotter! (ゝ∀･) Located on the coast of the Sea of Japan, Toyama Prefecture is home to a variety of unique summer festivals. The Toyama Prefecture Shutoken Honbu (a regional information centre located in Toyama's capital city) has announced its recommendations for summer festival highlights, so check them out if you happen to be in the area!
Toyama's impressive collection of summer festivals includes the Tatemon Festival, with its 16-metre-tall pillars each adorned with over 90 paper lanterns, and the Märchen Oyabe Genpei Kagyu Festival, at which participants race against time as they excitedly dash through the streets of Isurugi City while dragging flaming 700-kilogram straw oxen!
Festival Details
■ Jantokoi Uozu Festival
The Jantokoi Uozu Festival is Uozu City's biggest event, and this year it takes place from Friday, Aug. 5 to Sunday, Aug. 7. The main attractions are the Tatemon Festival, the Sea Fireworks Display, and the Serikomi Choroku traditional dance, and a variety of other events will be held around the city.
The "Jantokoi" part of the festival's name can be translated as "Come one, come all!", and it's also yelled out by the band during the Serikomu Choroku dance. Throughout the three days of the Uozu Festival, the city is filled with a festive atmosphere as it gets crowded with both locals and visitors eager to enjoy the events.
・Tatemon Festival
The sound of taiko drums and flutes rises up from the hayashi (traditional Japanese orchestra) as young people wearing happi coats parade through town while pulling Tatemon, triangular sail-shaped floats decorated with rows of lanterns. A Tatemon is a roughly 16-metre-tall pillar from which over 90 paper lanterns are strung in a triangular shape, with illuminated pictures below. Each one of these sail-shaped floats is 10 metres tall, weighs around 5 tonnes, is supported by a base, and is enthusiastically pulled around town by around 80 people.
・Serikomi Choroku
The Uozu Serikomi Choroku is a classic Uozu City folk song that has been passed down since the Edo period. The dancers look just like fluttering swallowtail butterflies as they dance to the intense marching rhythm of the Serikomi Choroku. It's said that this is the origin of the name Serikomi Choroku - serikomi can be translated as "fast-talking", and chou means "butterfly" while roku means "six". On the day of the event, around 3,500 people from the community and local businesses take to the streets and each team demonstrates its own version of the dance.
Jantokoi Uozu Festival
**Dates:** Friday, Aug. 5 to Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016
**Times:**
Day 1:
・Tatemon Festival - from 8:00 p.m. (Location: Suwa Shrine)
Day 2:
・Sea Fireworks Display - 7:40 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. (Location: Uozu Harbour)
・Tatemon Festival - from 8:40 p.m. (Location: Suwa Shrine)
Day 3:
・Serikomi Choroku - from 7:00 p.m. (Location: 22m Dori)
**How to Get There:**
・About 10 minutes by car from Uozu Interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway
・About a 10-minute walk from Toyama Chiho Railway Uozu Station
・About 10 minutes by car from Ainokaze Toyama Railway Uozu Station
Homepage
■ Märchen Oyabe Genpei Kagyu Festival
Taking place on Saturday, July 30 this year, the Märchen Oyabe Genpei Kagyu Festival is a unique event inspired by the Battle of Kurikara in 1183. In this battle between the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan, Kiso no Yoshinaka attached lit torches to the horns of oxen and released them into the forces of the Taira clan in a surprise attack known as the Kagyu-no-Kei ("Flaming Bull Strategy"). Thanks to the incredible atmosphere of this event, you'll feel like you've been transported 800 years into the past, and the sight of the participants running through town while dragging flaming straw oxen is seriously impressive! The Märchen Oyabe Genpei Kagyu Festival was started by local people, and this year is its 21st anniversary. You won't find a festival like this anywhere else!
Märchen Oyabe Genpei Kagyu Festival
**Date:** Saturday, July 30, 2016
**Times:**
・Opening Ceremony / Safety Prayer - from 3:00 p.m.
・Children's Race - from 4:00 p.m.
・Adult Race - from 6:30 p.m.
*The race finishes at around 8:30 p.m.*
**Location:**
・Isurugi City Shopping District
・In front of the Oyabe City Society of Commerce and Industry Assembly Hall
**How to Get There:**
・About 10 minutes by car from Oyabe Interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway
・About 10 minutes by car from Oyabe Interchange on the Noetsu Expressway
・About a 1-minute walk from the Ainokaze Toyama Railway Isurugi Station
**Parking:**
・Oyabe City Office (1-1 Honmachi, Oyabe)
・Isurugi Community Center (3-7 Shintomimachi, Oyabe)
・Oyabe City Community Center (1-1 Shiroyamamachi, Oyabe)
*Please be aware that traffic restrictions will be in place on the day of the event.*
Homepage
■ Toyama's Summer Dessert
Passed down since ancient times in the Ikuji area of Kurobe City, you've gotta try this Toyama dessert that's only available in the summer!
● Mizu Dango - the Toyama Limited-Edition Summer Dessert That You Can Even Try in Tokyo
Mizu means "water", and dango are sweet rice flour dumplings that are similar to mochi. The name mizu dango comes from the fact that these dango are chilled using meisui (remarkable water proudly protected by the people of that area) from Kurobe in Toyama. Mizu dango are simple sweets made by steaming balls of dough made from top-grade rice flour mixed with potato starch. Before eating, mizu dango are cut into bite-sized pieces, washed in Kurobe water, and finally sprinkled with sweetened kinako (soybean flour). The number of producers of mizu dango is dwindling, but in response to great demand, mizu dango are currently available as a summer treat at a number of stores and restaurants both inside and outside of Kurobe City.
You can taste this summer treat at Nihonbashi Toyama-kan! They're available for ¥500 (including tax) at Toyama Bar.
**Location:** Nihonbashi Daiei Building 1F, 1-2-6 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Nihonbashi Toyama-kan Homepage
■ About Toyama Shutokan Honbu
As a transmission point for information, Toyama Shutokan Honbu (located in Toyama City) cooperates with relevant institutions and organisations to rapidly obtain a variety of information that is vital to Toyama Prefecture. It also proactively promotes Toyama's sightseeing locations and products, as well as promoting the potential of Toyama for business operations.
Source: @Press
