Chichibu is fun ❤️ - Chichibu Kawase Festival, Pulling of food stalls and Mikoshi washing ceremony and night festival in Arakawa! I've participated in so many courses! I love mikoshi ❤️ But I didn't know that there's a ceremony in the Arakawa where you carry a mikoshi and then pour water on it at the end! I was impressed when I got into the river! It's like, "Wow, wow!" In a nutshell. Chichibu was such fun. I live in Saitama, so from the beginning I was out of my mind about Chichibu as a tourist destination. I'm sorry Chichibu 💦 It was a typical summer festival. But it was a lot of fun 😊 I joined one. Perhaps because of the character of our guide Sachiko, we were able to quickly open up to the other participants even if we joined alone. Thank you ✨ Foreigners are joining in, and English is a little bit like me, "Am I global?" It was like that 😁 While walking around, Sachiko meets someone she knows! There, I was able to hear many stories and have unexpected experiences. Thank you ✨ I want to join again 😊

Kawase Festival: The tradition of pulling apart, passing each other, and playing music continues - I thought the Kawase Festival in the summer was a slightly smaller festival because of my knowledge of the festival featuring children, but I was impressed by the very big festival. The tour was guided along with the flow of the festival, and it was good to see it in a good place that was always worth seeing, such as mikoshi washing, four flower floats, and four stalls clashing. I was impressed by the way the children parted ways and passed each other. It was brilliant. It was easy to understand the unique history of each historical festival and Shinto ritual in the Chichibu region.

Must-see festival came to life through the guide's thoughtful explanations - It was so nice to be guided through the festival by a professional guide, Sachiko. Even though I can read Japanese, she was able to give so much insight, deepening the experience far beyond what I would have found had I gone alone. Having such a vibrant festival punctuated by snippets of folklore and local customs really brought the significance of it all into focus for me. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

It's exciting! 'Mikoshi' moves powerfullly in the river - The tour was held on the day (July 20) of 'Kawase' festival' (the summer festival) organized by Chichibu shrine. The festival is a major festival that is a companion to the night festival held in early December. At first, we briefly learned about annuary festivals in Chichibu area in Chichibu 'Matsuri' (festival) museum, then we moved to Chichibu shrine near the museum. There was 'Mikoshi' (a moving shrine), and it was just ready to be carried by representative young guys selected from every district in Chichibu area. After the Mikoshi started moving headed to 'Arakawa' river, we were taken to the precinct of Chichibu shrine and were received explanations about origin and history of the shrine, brilliant statues that decorate the shrine building, and about one of the enshrined gods, 'Myoken-sama' --- a female goddess which was deified as the polar star and the Big Dipper. The story of a once-a-year secret meeting on the day of night festival (Dec. 3) between the Myoken-sama and a male god of Mt. Buko (located south side of Chichibu shrine) was visionary and fascinating. Leaving Chichibu shrine, we followed the procession of the Mikoshi, got ahead of the Mikoshi at a resting point and went to the riverside, at which we waited the Mikoshi arriving. The Mikoshi arrived with powerful shouts, and after a while, it went into the river and headed upstream to the place where an ablution of the Mikoshi is performed. We moved to upstream along riverside to see the ablution. Unfortunately, I couldn't see it because there were already lots of people before me. After the tour, however, the tour guide sent me a movie of the ablution, which was taken by a participant of the tour who is taller than me. Thank you so much for their kindness. The movement of the Mikoshi to the upstream river was very fast and powerful. The Mikoshi- carrier guys were very brave to muster all their strength and move forward. It seemed to be the climax of the summer festival. The tour guide is an expert of festivals in Chichibu. She knows much about Chichibu area other than ordinary guide-book knowledges. Because of this, her guiding talk was realistic and vivid, and full of local love. Many people of all ages in the area, from elementary and junior high students to the elderly, participated in this festival and seemed to be having much fun. The festival looked like a manifestation of the plain faith of the people to the local shrine and its god/goddess, which has been passed down through a long history. Looking at the people involved in the festival gave me a glimpse of the spiritual climate in this local area. Since I enjoyed and was much satisfied with the tour, I'd like to strongly recommend the tour to the people who wants to experience the reality of local culture in Japan.