Festivals

Katsura Matsuri

   When you think of Kochi, you think of the Yosakoi Festival! Every year from August 9 to 12, the streets of Kochi City overflow with music, decorated buses and over 20,000 dancers. It’s Carnaval, Kochi style!

   While spectacular, however, Yosakoi is but one of the countless matsuri, or festivals, celebrated throughout the year all over Japan. Practically every city, town, shrine and temple has its own matsuri celebrating everything from local deities to snow sculptures. Kochi City alone has matsuri celebrating the castle (Kochi Oshiro Matsuri), the life of local hero Sakamoto Ryoma (Ryoma Matsuri), and even wigs (Katsura Matsuri) to name but a few.

The 35th Otsuna Festival in Tosa City

   This is a tug-of-war festival that sees a giant rope 80m in length, weighing 1.2t and with a circumference of 1.8m, tugged East-West across the city. There will be various events like a Yosakoi dance, mochi throwing, a beer garden, and a tug-of-war tournament.

Date: 3pm - 9pm Sat. 18 August, 2012
Place: Prefectural Highway Tosa Ino, Tosa City
Access: 30mins by car from Kochi City, 5mins from Tosa IC
Inquiries: Tosa City Chamber of Commerce Tel: 088-852-1261

Annual Bonito Festival

   2.5 tons of new Bonito fish will be polished off at this indulgent festival in Nakatosa. Come along and partake of char-grilled bonito, bonito rice, bonito soup, a ‘Luxury Bonito Set’ and other delicacies only available here in the town of the Bonito.

Time: Sun May 20, 2012 10:00am-3:00pm
Place: Event Plaza in front of Nakatosa Kure Hachiman Shrine
Access: About 7mins walk from JR Tosa Kure Station
Inquiries: Nakatosa Town Fisheries, Commerce and Industry Division
TEL:0889-52-2473

Wisteria Festival

   130 people parade through the town dressed in the traditional wear of the Muromachi Era (1336-1573). Each will be wearing a colourful outfit appropriate to their job description. It will be as if an ancient scroll has come to life in Nakamura.

Time: Thurs May 3rd, 2012 (Public Holiday)
Place: Around Ichijo Shrine and the streets of Shimanto City
Access: About 5mins by car from Nakamura Station on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway
Inquiries: Shimanto City Chamber of Commerce TEL:0880-34-4333

Tsurayuki Sakura Matsuri － Spring Experience of Wearing Japanese Kimono

   The Nankoku International Association (NIA) prepares Kimono for not only women but also for men. You can try to have a green tea. It's served by one of association clubs in Nankoku. Let's enjoy HANAMI (SAKURA flower viewing) under the SAKURA trees in your Kimono.

Dorome Festival

   This festival is held to pray for a large catch of Dorome (Sardine fry). The main event is a sake skulling competition where men must down 1.8L of rice wine, and women 900mL, accompanied by chants of `Guuuu to Gutto` (Gulp Gulp!). Entrants are given points for speed and style.

Home Cooking from Around the World

   A world food event will be held on Sun. March 11 at Hirome Ichiba. Food from up to 6 countries such as Denmark, France, Indonesia, Spain, Thailand and USA will be on sale. All food will be home-style dishes, made by foreigners living in Kochi.

   Enjoy authentic ethnic cuisine on Sun. March 11 at Hirome Ichiba, Kochi City. Don’t miss it!

Cosmos Festival

   Every year there is a Cosmos Festival in Ochicho from October the first to October the sixteenth. About 1,500,000 flowers bloom in a large park.  Cosmos in the park make a lane. We can walk and see cosmos very close up.  The air of the park is very clear because the park is encircled by the river and the mountains.

The 29th Annual Cosmos Festival in Ochi Town

   The Cosmos Festival is a famous event that has come to represent the town of Ochi. It will be held in the main arena of the Miya-no-mae park. The festival boasts around 1.5 million Cosmos plants, which sway gently in the Autumn breeze. There will also be horse-drawn carriage rides and food and drink stalls. A perfect family day out.

The 28th Annual Okawa Village Beef Festival (Shanikusai)

Have you ever wondered what people get up to in the smallest village in Japan? Okawa village has a population of around 400 people, and while it might not be the most bustling of metropolises, there’s at least one day out of the year that makes the long trek up into the deep interior of the Reihoku region worth it.

Otsukimi － Moon Viewing

   Otsukimi, literally “moon viewing”, has for many centuries been held sometime in the middle of September all over Japan. During the harvest season, the air is clean and you can see beautiful full moons, and so the season is held then.

Yosakoi Naruko Odori

image picture

   In summer 2010, a film set in Kochi,`Kimi ga odoru, natsu: The summer you are dancing in’ was released.  The story is about a girl struggling with an intractable disease. Her condition was so serious that she might die that summer. She had one thing she had longed to do while she was alive. It was to dance Yosakoi Naruko Odori. The movie was attracted considerable attention because it’s based on a true story.

Kure Hachimangu Shrine Grand Festival

   The Kure Hachimangu Shrine Grand Festival is taking place from the 14th to the 15th of the 8th month in the lunar calendar and is one of the three major festivals of Kochi. The festival has been held since the Period of Warring States in Japan (16th century). The highlight of the festival is a magnificent procession called “Omikoku-san” where local men march through the night towards the shrine while carrying a large, 6-meter-high torch weighing about 1 ton.

Furusato Festival in Gohoku

Beating Japanese-style drums strongly

   Have any of you ever gone to summer festivals held in countryside of Kochi Prefecture?

   The festivals are just as fun as the festivals in Kochi city, but in the summer, it will be more of an unforgettable experience. The event I would like to focus on the most is the ‘’Furusato Festival in Gohoku’’.

Shimanto Taisho ‘Ayu’ Festival

fishing with flaming torches

   This festival is locally run by townspeople, featuring the fish ‘ayu’ – one of the natural blessing provided by the Shimanto River. So come along and experience delectable Ayu-based cuisine. Plus, you can’t miss the nearby demonstration of traditional fishing methods – including fishing with flaming torches!

Daimonji-no-Okuribi (Great Bonfire Event), Shimanto City

   An annual Obon event representative of the summer in the Masaki area of Shimanto City. This is an event unusual in the whole of Japan, where giant, burning 大 kanji can be seen and enjoyed by everyone.

Yosakoi Festival － A secret of a happy married life

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   The season of the Yosakoi Festival this year is just around the corner, which is held from 9 to 12 in every August in Kochi City. This year 191 teams are participating in the festival.

Otsuna Festival

   This is a tug-of-war festival that sees a giant rope 80m in length, weighing 1t and with a circumference of 1.8m, tugged East-West across the city. There will be various events like a Yosakoi dance, mochi throwing, a beer garden, and a tug-of-war tournament.

Blood, Candlelight and Yakisoba - Ekin Festival in Akaoka

How often does one get the chance to enjoy art bathed in candlelight whilst eating yakisoba washed down with beer? Once a year in Kochi's Akaoka Town, that is!

Fireworks Display in Susaki Festival

When: Sat. Aug.6, 8pm-9pm (In case of bad weather, postpone to Sat. Aug. 27)
Where: Fujigahama, Hamamachi, Susaki City

Directions: 10 min walk from JR Susaki Sta.
Scale of fireworks: 2000 shots
Inquiries: 0889-42-2575

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