Festival Experience

Going to Shika Town

The week before the festival had been quite rainy, so we were worried that the festival might be cancelled. We drove for about two hours from Suzu, and this was my first time visiting Shika Town. Before coming here, I imagined Shika Town to be a rather secluded place with only a small number of residents. I was surprised to see people of all ages coming out and taking part in the festival.

We were also very fortunate with the weather. Despite the rainy forecast for the week, the procession took place without rain. Interestingly, other parts of Noto were experiencing rain with varying intensity at the same time.

Otabi Festival/Kiriko Procession

The event at Sumiyoshi Shrine on the first day of event began around 4 PM. The sounds of gongs and taiko drums were accompanied by lively festival songs. What I found particularly interesting was that some of the songs were sung through microphones while the Kiriko were being carried.

We followed the procession from Sumiyoshi Shrine toward Togi Hachiman Shrine, a distance of around two kilometers. The procession lasted for about two hours, with several breaks along the way. As we moved from Sumiyoshi Shrine, Kiriko from other areas joined the procession, creating a longer line as they made their way toward the shrine.

Kiriko and the Festival Song

The Kiriko carriers were divided into different groups, with each group wearing happi coats in different colors. Despite these differences, they came together through the same festival songs. I also noticed that many of the Kiriko had Japanese characters as their main decoration, with fewer to no depictions of historical figures compared with some other Kiriko festivals I have seen.

It was also interesting to see so many young people among the carriers. Some of them were casually smoking cigarettes or drinking canned beer while carrying the Kiriko, which gave the procession a very relaxed but energetic atmosphere. There were Kiriko of different sizes and colors. One of them was even red. The Kiriko began to light up at around 6:30 PM, making the procession even more noticeable as evening approached.

Arriving at the End of the Procession

When we reached Togi Hachiman Shrine, we bought festival beef on sticks for 700 yen each. We greeted the shrine and sat along the side while eating. Later, kiriko lined up at the entrance of the shrine. They were once again lifted and carried while the carriers sang loudly. Seeing kiriko being raised together at the shrine was one of the memorable moments of the procession. The second day of the festival features the Hamamawari, when the mikoshi gather along the coast at Masuho-ura Beach. Unfortunately, we were not able to attend this part of the festival.

Since we did not plan to stay until it was completely dark, we decided to retrace the procession route on foot and head back to our parking area near FamilyMart. Even from about a kilometer away, we could still hear the loud gongs and taiko drums echoing from the festival. Fortunately, FamilyMart had extended its operating hours and even gave us a slice of watermelon for free. We ended up getting our dinner there as well, since many restaurants around Noto were already closed even though it was only around 7 PM.

I probably would not have thought about visiting Shika Town on my own, especially because getting there by public transportation can be difficult due to the limited bus routes. I was fortunate that a local was willing to drive me all the way there, which gave me the opportunity to experience this festival in person.