The festivities in Nonoe started on September 24, Thursday, and continued into the following day. Unfortunately, I had a headache on the first day of the festival, so I was not able to challenge myself to go and see it.

Come Friday, we went around the town to ask for information about what time the festival would start and where the procession would take place. With mostly the help of my coworker, we asked around at a flower shop, a convenience store, and, fortunately, a group of people who were preparing for the festival.

Near the Genky store, my go-to place for my weekly groceries, we spotted a kiriko and a group of men standing by. My coworker encouraged me to approach the group and ask them about the festival myself. After all, communicating with local people is a must if I want to get better information for my research.

I was able to approach the men and learned that the Kiriko would start moving a little before noon. The exact time when the festival would end was unclear and was not generally fixed, but there was a good chance that it would continue until late at night. I was even invited to participate in pushing the Kiriko. One of the locals even joked that one of the Kiriko had a beautiful lady design that looked like me, and said that he would be waiting for me to join.

After work, I went out to find the festival procession. Finding the festival by bicycle and following the trails of drum sounds carried by the wind was actually quite fun. Soon after, I found the Kiriko procession. The narrow streets, combined with the number of festival participants, made the usually quiet neighborhood feel very lively. The low-hanging electrical wires also posed a challenge for the tall Kiriko as they made their way through the streets.

The moon was exceptionally beautiful that day. I followed the procession while looking closely at the illustrations on each Kiriko. Each one seemed to have its own personality. Some had lively taiko drummers, while others were decorated with different kinds of plant materials. The colorful festival outfits also helped bring even more life to the streets.

Following the procession, the kiriko eventually came to rest at an elementary school. All six Kiriko lined up, and people gathered to take part in the latter part of the event. There was also a performance by children playing the taiko drums. I decided to head home early as the nights had been getting colder over the past few days. It was around 6:30 PM when I left.