[2024] What is the order of the Kuwana IshidoriFestival Festival? What are the highlights? We have published an article that provides a detailed explanation of the information you are interested in🏮

The main events of the Kuwana IshidoriFestival are the Hongaku, which is held on the first Sunday in August, and the Shingaku, which is held on the Saturday the day before. There are several Shinto rituals before and after this, but the procession of festival cars takes place over these two days.

Dates for the 2024 Kuwana IshidoriFestival

August 3 (Saturday) Shingaku (trial run) → Parade within a group (a group formed within a nearby town)
August 4th (Sunday) Hongaku: Participating neighborhoods line up at Kasuga Shrine and hold a festival in front of the shrine.
(The detailed schedule for the day will be explained in the report article! Check the link button at the end ✅)

The highlight of the Kuwana IshidoriFestival is the "Tosai Festival." In front of the tower gate of Kasuga Shrine (KuwanaSosha), the main performers of the festival, the young men, play Ishitori-bayashi music for eight minutes in each town! You will definitely be enchanted by the music!

On Sunday, June 2, 2024, the order of the floats for 2024 was decided by drawing lots at Kasuga Shrine (divination ceremony). The float (number 1 in the order of the floats) will be in Yotsuya-cho, and the last float (number 40 in the order of the floats) will be in Teramachi. All the participating floats will be passing every 8 minutes, so it can get close to midnight by the time the last float finishes. Every year at this time, we get excited about the order of the floats, but it's also a moment when we feel that "this year's IshidoriFestival is finally approaching."

We will introduce the highlights of the Kuwana IshidoriFestival from a local perspective, as well as the schedule for the day, the food stalls, and access and parking. For more information, please check the link below 👇