Honjō Festival
event
Event Dates
Early November
The grand festival of Kanasana Shrine, also known as Honjō’s “Village Shrine Festival”. Festival floats are decorated with sculptures designed with gold leaves, urushi lacquer colors with elaborate metal carvings, and a drop curtain with patterns of splendor. The unique atmosphere of the festival is brought together through the tones of the graceful festival music played by musicians together with local children.
As of now, there are 10 floats built between 1872 and 1924, with 8 of them designated as a cultural property by the prefecture. The splendid floats that roam through Nakasendō carrying dolls such as those of Momotarō, Empress Jingū, Takeru Yamato, Kiyomasa Katō portray the picture scroll of the time. The carvings and embroideries of each float is wonderfully carried out, making it one of the finest articles, and is famous for being the greatest float in the Northern region of Kanto.
Basic Information
TEL 0495-25-1174
Car: 6 minutes via car from Kan-etsu Expressway’s Honjō Kodama Interchange
Map
Nearby spots
The warehouse made of bricks built in 1896 was used for the storage of cocoons and silk, supporting the silk industry and economy of Honjō. It is designated as a nationally registered tangible cultural property.
This is a tourist information center located in the Honjō Station of JR Takasaki Line. Pamphlets related to tourism and information regarding the city can be obtained, along with Honjō City’s souvenir. In addition, there are sweets and Japanese goods recommended by the Honjō City Tourism Association along with Honjō’s Kasuri.
This museum is jointly established by Honjo City and Waseda University. The museum traces the history of Honjo City from the Paleolithic period through archaeological materials. In addition to the nationally rare laughing human haniwa (terra-cotta tomb figurine) holding a shield and their complete cast of a small glass ball, visitors can see a variety of valuable materials owned by Waseda University.
Here you can see the only castanet-playing haniwa (clay figurine) and dancing female haniwa (clay figurine) found in Japan! In addition to the many earthenware and stone tools on display, the life of Kiku Nishizaki, the first female seaplane pilot in Japan, who is a great historical figure of Kamisato and the main character in an NHK TV series, is also introduced.
This riverside course is blessed with rich nature, with a view of the three mountains of Jōmō, and has a diverse course layout with an OUT course for skill and an IN course for power. There are seasonal events such as a competition named after Kiku Nishizaki, the first female seaplane pilot in Japan and a great figure of Kamisato, and a gift-giving program where you can get your hands on Kamisato's local vegetables and crops. The most famous 17th hole is a 595-yd par 6, a very long course.