This local Buddhist festival is held at a nearby shrine in October. Complete with fire walkers.  Actually a large number of the people watching also walked the fire.. maybe next year 🙂 On my (translated) maps it is called either Henshoin or Naritasan and I have no idea which is correct, maybe both. The Kanji… Read More Fire festival In Otawara
The Kyubi Festival is held in Nasu Town in September each year. Kyubi is the nine tailed fox mascot that represents Nasu. The legend of the nine tailed fox who disguised himself as a beautiful woman to commit evil deeds against the Emperor is a key part of local folk lore of the region and Kyubi   could… Read More Kyubi Festival Nasu Town
This local festival in September is related to one of my favourite shrines. Â Otawara Shrine. I was driving through town when I heard the drums and parked my car to see a parade passing through. Â A local told me it ended at Otawara shrine, so I drove up there to see the finale of the… Read More Nagetsuki Festival
April 18th and 19th 2015 saw the annual Yatai Matsuri, a local weekend of music, food and fun in downtown Otawara, Tochigi prefecture. The Yatai festival is an annual spring festival in the calendar. Yatai are traditionally smallish, mobile food stalls in Japan typically selling ramen or other food. The name literally means “shop stand.” The Yatai at… Read More Yatai Festival 2015
Foundation day in Japan is the 11th February and each year the nearby town of Shirakawa holds a Daruma Festival on that day. A Daruma is round doll that is usually made of papier-mâchĂ© and is hollow inside, but weighted at the bottom. So if they fall over they in general “get up” again. The… Read More Daruma Festival Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture
 Mashiko is a small town in south east Tochigi that is famous for its pottery. There are hundreds of potters living and working here and almost 400 different styles in this one small town in Tochigi. I’ve written about it before, but each time you go, you discover more and more and its charm becomes… Read More Mashiko Pottery Fair November 2014
Yoichi Matsuri is a local Otawara held in early August each year in Otawara City. The festival is in honor of our local hero Yasu no Yoichi whose bravery and marksmanship was a key event in the battle for control of Japan in the Genpei war (1180-1185). The story goes that in the battle between… Read More Yoichi Matsuri 2014
Children’s Day (Kodomo no hi) is one of the Japanese National Holidays that occurs in Golden week. It takes place on the 5th day of the 5th Month… Or May 5th… The day was originally boy’s day but has become over time children’s days. In 1948, the government decreed this day to be a national holiday… Read More Children’s Day
Visitors here are often surprised about what there is to do here in Otawara.. Â Its not so well known as many other regions in Japan and maybe you need a car to see many of the hidden gems.. I’ve been here 2 1/2 years and I’m still finding interesting and fun things in the… Read More 24 hours in Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture
April in Otawara means the Yatai festival or Yatai Matsuri.. Yatai Matsuri in Otawara is a loud, fun, musical(ish) 2 day event based around the Kanodoro in downtown Otawara… It is a local festival involving wooden floats called Yatai, which are traditionally small, mobile food stalls in Japan typically selling ramen or other food. The name… Read More Yatai Matsuri April 2014
Just Life in Japan 