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
This brick warehouse was built in 1896 and used for the storage of cocoons and silk, supporting Honjō's silk industry and economy. It is a nationally registered tangible cultural property.
This is a tourist information center located in Honjō Station of JR Takasaki Line. Visitors can obtain tourist pamphlets and information regarding the city and purchase Honjō City’s souvenirs. Sweets and Japanese goods recommended by the Honjō City Tourism Association and Honjō Kasuri silk are also available.
This museum was jointly established by Honjo City and Waseda University. The museum holds archaeological materials from the Paleolithic period through which visitors can trace the history of Honjo City. In addition to artifacts rarely found in Japan, such as the laughing human haniwa (terra-cotta tomb figurine) holding a shield and a completed 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) ever found in Japan! In addition to the many earthenware and stone tools on display, you'll get an introduction to the life of Kiku Nishizaki, the first Japanese female seaplane pilot and great historical figure of Kamisato, who was the model for the heroine of an NHK TV series.
This riverside course has a mix of flat and undulating greens and is blessed with a rich natural scenery, with a view of the three mountains of Jōmō and Mt. Asama, and a carpet of red spider lilies in bloom during peak season. The specialty of the course is No. 17, a 595-yd (regular), par 6, extra-long course.