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HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Owara Kaze-no-Bon Festival
An enchanting festival with melancholic music and elegant traditional dance
Toyama Prefecture
People from all over Japan come to see the folk song event Owara Kaze-no-Bon, a summer festival held in Yatsuo Town of Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, from the 1st to the 3rd of September every year.
Its origin remains a mystery, said to date back about three hundred years. One theory is that Owara began with the towns' people dancing for three full days to celebrate the discovery of an important document that was lost. It soon variated into a festival called Kaze-no-Bon, held to wish for safety from typhoons and strong winds (kaze) that damage crops. The festival also coincides with Disaster Prevention Day, which is observed in Japan every year on September 1st.
The festival venue is the whole town, so you don't need to worry about entry fees. Walk through the town lighted with several thousand paper-covered lanterns, where you may run into men and women dancing with elegance to the slow tempo of the folk song. A serene atmosphere flows throughout the town which will make you feel like you are in a magical world.
How to get there
From Toyama Station, take the JR Taykayama Line to Etchu-Yatsuo Station (about 25 minutes).
2898-1 Yatsuomachi Kamishinmachi, Toyama-shi, Toyama-ken
