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Festivals
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Hokuto City has a busy festival schedule that includes the Paul Rusch Festival,
an international highland harvest festival that attracts many visitors from abroad,
the Akeno Sunflower Festival, where visitors walk through a vast field of sunflowers
that grow under the longest hours of sunlight in Japan, and the Kiyosato Field
Ballet, a large outdoor ballet held every summer in Kiyosato’s “Moegi no Mura.”
These events enjoy the attendance of many people from other prefectures. |
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Pure World, which is held in the vicinity of Kiyosato Station, is a street ice
sculpture contest that involves ice artists from Yamanashi and other prefectures.
About the time the sky darkens, varicolored lights are turned on the ice sculptures
to reveal their mysterious forms. Pure World offers free hot milk and herb tea,
and also has an extensive menu of other attractions such as a music box concert,
a drawing for prizes, and curling. Countless candles light the street, a scene
that is representative of Kiyosato in winter. |
| Date |
Mid-February (inquire about exact date) |
| Place |
Shopping district near Kiyosato Station |
| Inquiries |
Pure World Organizing Committee
Telephone: 0551-47-3111 |
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The Carp Streamer Festival, which is held in Takane Town’s Minami Yatsugatake
Hananomori Park on the day of the Boys’ Festival (May 5), is truly a spectacular
sight with 500 carp streamers high in the sky. Visitors can also enjoy activities
which are not often available, such as mud races and bare-hand carp catching
in unplanted rice paddies. |
| Date |
May 5 |
| Place |
Minami Yatsugatake Hananomori Park |
| Inquiries |
Nagasawa Carp Streamer Festival Organizing Committee
Telephone: 0551-47-2303 |
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This is the event that signals the coming of early summer to the south foot
of Mt. Yatsugatake. While the festival centers around the Japanese azaleas which
bloom in profusion in Utsukushimori, visitors can also enjoy other types of azaleas.
At night Utsukushimori is totally illuminated, making it possible to appreciate
a highland night fantasy land. A companion event is the “Azalea Festival Kiyosato
Walk,” in which participants take a refreshing walk through early summer Kiyosato
while viewing the azaleas. |
| Date |
Early June (inquire for exact date) |
| Place |
Kiyosato Highland, Utsukushimori |
| Inquiries1 |
Takane Branch Municipal Office, Local Development Section
Telephone: 0551-42-1441 |
| Inquiries2 |
Kiyosato Station Area Tourism Office “Aozora”
Telephone: 0551-48-2179 |
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Visitors can take full pleasure in a sea of 210,000 sunflowers
that is enclosed on all sides by the Southern Alps, Mt. Yatsugatake, Mt. Fuji,
Mt. Kayagatake, and other mountains in sun-drenched Akeno Town, which gets the
longest hours of sunlight in Japan. Other festive events include photo contests,
photo sessions with models, and outdoor markets. |
| Date |
Usually the two months of July and August (see the
website for details) |
| Place |
Sunflower field by Akeno Fureai Sun Building |
| Inquiries1 |
Akeno Agriculture Development Public Corporation
5219-1 Uede, Akeno-co, Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi
Telephone: 0551-25-2885 Fax: 0551-25-5040 |
| Inquiries2 |
Hokuto City Municipal Office, Tourism Section
961-1 Mamyoda, Sutama-cho, Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi
Telephone: 0551-42-1414 Fax:
0551-42-1122 |
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Remarkable Water and Great Purple Emperor Butterfly
Festival
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The Great Purple Emperor Butterfly Festival has been enjoyed by people of this
region since it was the former Nagasaka Town. Put on by the local residents themselves,
the festival is meant for the protection of Nagasaka’s natural environment. Participants
have fun with a traditional portable shrine, traditional drums, and musical performances,
as well as “streaming noodles” using the “remarkable water” of Nagasaka. A fireworks
display is the festival’s finale. |
| Date |
Mid-July (inquire for exact date) |
| Place |
Nagasaka Sports Park |
| Inquiries |
Remarkable Water and Great Purple Emperor Butterfly Festival Organizing Committee
Office
(Nagasaka Branch Municipal Office, Local Development Section)
Telephone:
0551-42-1451 |
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Hokuto City Children’s Festival
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Japanese summer, Mukawa summer. Every year Hokuto City’s Mukawa Town, which
always feels like home when you visit, holds the “Hokuto City Children’s Festival.”
There is plenty of fun for children and adults, such as a miniature steam locomotive
that sends out puffs of smoke as it gives children rides, and a variety of practical
activities such as making one’s own toys. |
| Date |
Mid-July (inquire for exact date) |
| Place |
Omukawa Riverside Park (Friend Park Mukawa) |
| Inquiries |
City Municipal Office, Community Development Section
Telephone: 0551-42-1323 |
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Mt. Yatsugatake Horse Show in Kobuchizawa
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A festival of horses and fireworks in the horseback-riding town of Kobuchizawa
where visitors can delight fully in the fascination of horses
Every summer this
festival begins with a parade of people on horseback, and continues with events
including a TV superhero show, lead line riding, playing horseshoes, and local
drum performances, held mainly at the Prefectural Equestrian Arena. The main
attraction is the horse show which starts at dusk, and includes performances
such as Western-style horseback riding and traditional Japanese equestrian arts.
The show closes with a fireworks display. Co-events include an agricultural festival
at Spatio Kobuchizawa, the Casablanca Festa at Fiore Kobuchizawa, and the Lilly
of the Valley Festival at the shopping district by Kobuchizawa Station. |
| Date |
Late July |
| Place |
Prefectural Equestrian Arena in Kobuchizawa Town, Hokuto
City |
| Inquiries |
Nagasaka Branch Municipal Office
835 Kobuchizawa-cho, Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi
Telephone:
0551-42-1119 |
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The Kiyosato Field Ballet, which is held at Moegi no Mura in Takane Town, is
an attraction of characteristic color for a summer night. In addition to the
performance of many well-known classical ballets such as “Swan Lake” and “Giselle”
across a forest backdrop, the creative ballet “Celestial Poem,” which is set
at the southern foot of Mt. Yatsugatake, was the first ballet to be awarded the
National Arts Festival Grand Prize by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
The green
of the forest illuminated in night darkness, fog among the trees, scudding clouds
in the moonlight, and a star-filled sky ? the ever-changing expression of nature’s
backdrop makes the dancers appear vibrant, a spectacle that captivates the audience. |
| Date |
Two weeks starting in late July (inquire for exact
dates) |
| Place |
Special stage in Moegi no Mura, Takane Town |
| Inquiries |
Kiyosato Field Ballet Office
3545 Kiyosato, Takane-cho, Hokuto-shi
Telephone:
0551-48-3522 |
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The Mukawa Hometown Festival is held in Mukawa Town, which is one of Japan’s
premier rice-growing districts. This festival brings color to summer in Mukawa
with a variety of events and stands including performances of a traditional performing
art called “Yamato Kagura” (music and dancing rooted in Shinto) and Mukawa drums,
many kinds of food sold at busy stands, a singing show of popular songs, and
Obon dancing, with a grand fireworks finale that brings the festival to an exciting
conclusion. |
| Date |
Mid-August (inquire about exact date) |
| Place |
Mukawa Sports Plaza (next to Mukawa Junior High School) |
| Inquiries |
Mukawa Branch Municipal Office, Local Development Section
Telephone: 0551-42-1118 |
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The general area of Wakamiko district in Sutama Town, a part
of Hokuto City, has many sites connected to the Kai Clan. For example, Shinra
Saburo Yoshimitsu, who was the founder of the Takeda family and of the Kai Clan,
built Wakamiko Castle as his residence. This is the basis for the Sutama Kai
Clan Festival, an energetic event that includes pulling around two reconnaissance
towers, which weight 1.7 tons each and were used as battlefield watch towers
in the Warring States period, a spitting contest for scarlet runner beans, which
are a well-known product of this area, and a yosakoi (type of traditional folk
song) singing contest. |
| Date |
Last Sunday in September or first Sunday in October
(inquire about exact date) |
| Place |
Locations in Wakamiko district, including Sutama Fureaikan |
| Inquiries |
Akeno Agriculture Development Public Corporation
5219-1 Uede, Akeno-co, Hokuto-shi,
Yamanashi
Telephone: 0551-25-2885 Fax: 0551-25-5040 |
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Colorful scarecrows line the path along the bank of an irrigation pond. The
Miwashincho Scarecrow Festival, held every year in Miwashincho, a part of Takane
Town, is a display of homemade scarecrows which are indicative of the times.
It’s a relaxed event with attractions such as the “scarecrow competition,” which
involves seeing how long one can “become a scarecrow” and stand on one leg, an
open-air market, and stands offering visitors food such as “rice ear soup.” |
| Date |
Last Sunday in September (inquire about schedule) |
| Place |
y the irrigation pond in Miwashincho, Takane Town (on
National Route 141) |
| Inquiries1 |
Miwashincho Scarecrow Festival Association
Telephone: 0551-47-2427 |
| Inquiries2 |
Takane Branch Municipal Office, Local Development Section
Telephone: 0551-42-1441 |
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The county fair is a “homemade” harvest festival which began as a festival not
only to give thanks for the year’s harvest, but also to celebrate the achievements
of Paul Rusch, a man with an indomitable spirit who dedicated his life to postwar
Japan’s reconstruction and democratization mainly around Mt. Yatsugatake. The
festival offers many interesting attractions including cheerleading connected
with Paul Rusch, who was also the father of American football, many kinds of
food from Hokuto City and other places, concerts, and the Yatsugatake Derby and
piglet race. Young people from not only Yamanashi and other prefectures, but
also from the US state of Kentucky and throughout the world, build the festival’s
enthusiastic mood. No pretensions are needed at this country fair, which keeps
people coming back year after year. Adults and children alike should come warmly
dressed and have the time of their lives. |
| Date |
Mid-October (inquire about exact dates) |
| Place |
Pastureland by Seisenryo |
| Inquiries |
Paul Rusch Festival Yatsugatake County Fair Organizing Committee
Telephone: 0551-48-2169
Fax: 0551-20-7531
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This festival, held on Culture Day (November 3), is built around the the Asao
daikon (giant radishes) grown in volcanic soil of Mt. Kayagatake. These daikon
are a well-known specialty of Asao, a place in Akeno Town, Hokuto City. Visitors
may harvest daikon themselves and take them home in bags sold at the festival.
There is also an open-air market, in addition to free furofuki daikon (a kind
of cooked and seasoned daikon) for 1,000 visitors, a photo contest, an exciting
show, and a variety of other attractions. |
| Date |
November 3 |
| Place |
Sunflower field by Akeno Fureai Sun Building |
| Inquiries |
Akeno Agriculture Development Public Corporation
5219-1 Uede, Akeno-co, Hokuto-shi,
Yamanashi
Telephone: 0551-25-2885 Fax: 0551-25-5040 |
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Rice connoisseurs gather here! This is an event for people to taste the rice
of Mukawa, one of Japan’s representative rice-producing regions, which was awarded
the “special A” ranking in an evaluation of rice taste sponsored by the Japan
Grain Inspection Association. In recent years newly harvested rice of that fabled
“Norin #48” (commonly known as “Yompachi”) variety has been sold at the festival
venue. Visitors can thoroughly enjoy Mukawa Rice in a variety of ways including
free riceballs (the number is limited), sales of local first-rate products such
as Chinese yams, and the many food stalls on the grounds. |
| Date |
November 23 (Labor Thanksgiving Day, inquire for details) |
| Place |
Omukawa Riverside Park (Friend Park Mukawa) |
| Inquiries |
City Municipal Office, Community Development Section
Telephone: 0551-42-1323 |
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