Dozens of giant kites, each the size of several tatami mats, fly in the sky over Hamamatsu City in May.
Hamamatsu Matsuri is a festival held in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture from May 3rd to May 5th every year. The biggest highlight is the kite-flying contest. Kite flying has an element of competition, with each town cutting each other's kite strings with their own kite strings.
🪁 初子の誕生を空に告げる
Kite flying at the Hamamatsu Festival has its own customs. The town celebrates the birth by flying a ``first kite'' for the family where the first child (firstborn, Hatsugo) was born that year. The children's names are written on the kites and the entire town flies them high into the sky. The birth of a child is celebrated not only with the family, but also with the whole town. This custom is said to be the origin of kite flying at the Hamamatsu Festival.
The venue for the kite-flying contest is the "Kite-Flying Venue" adjacent to the Nakatajima Sand Dunes, where approximately 170 towns fly their own kites. In a battle, the act of intertwining kite strings and cutting the opponent's string using friction is called ``thread cutting.'' The sound of thick hemp threads rubbing against each other and the sound of cheers when the thread breaks echoes throughout the venue.
At night, the atmosphere of the festival changes completely, and a ``Goten float parade'' takes place. Palace floats decorated with gold leaf and lacquer are paraded under the light of lanterns. It's a gorgeous night parade that contrasts with the wild kite-flying battles of the day.
Points of appreciation
This is a great place to see the Hamamatsu Festival.
- Kite flying venue:The event will be held at a venue near Nakatajima Sand Dunes, approximately 15 minutes by shuttle bus from JR Hamamatsu Station. The sight of gigantic kites filling the sky at the open sandy venue is impressive. On days when the wind is strong, the kites move more violently and the battle becomes more exciting.
- Goten Yatai:The night parade of the palace floats takes place in the center of Hamamatsu city. Each town owns the stalls, and the carvings and decorations vary from town to town. The line of food stalls illuminated by lanterns is an easy subject to capture on camera.
- Food stalls and food:There are many food stalls around the kite flying venue and in the city. Hamamatsu is also known as the city that competes for the most gyoza consumption in Japan, and eating Hamamatsu gyoza in between festivals is one way to enjoy it.
- congestion:It is a large-scale festival that attracts approximately 2 million people over three days. Crowds will be particularly high on the first day of May 3rd. Hotels near JR Hamamatsu Station fill up quickly during Golden Week, so if you plan on staying overnight, you'll need to make reservations early.
🏮 昼と夜で二つの顔を持つ祭り
What makes the Hamamatsu Festival interesting is that the character of the festival changes completely between day and night. During the day, a wild kite-flying competition takes place in a large sandy venue. At night, the gorgeous Goten floats parade through the city. Different elements of competition and celebration coexist within one festival.
Hamamatsu is a stop on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen, and is easily accessible from Tokyo in about an hour and a half and Nagoya in about 30 minutes. When traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto during your trip to Japan during Golden Week, you can get off and stop by on your way.