What is the Kawagoe Festival?
History A festival with a tradition of over 370 years

Hikkawase

The Kawagoe Festival was designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in February

Hikkawase is one of the highlights of the2005 under the name of the Float Festival of the Kawagoe Hikawa Matsuri Festival and was included on theKawagoe Festival. When a ﬂoat passes

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in December 2016. The festival started in 1648, the Keian period,

another ﬂoat, they perform Hikkawase as awhen Matsudaira Nobutsuna, the lord of the Kawagoe Domain at the time, contributed the lion's face masks

greeting between townspeople. A particularand mikoshi (portable shrines) to Hikawa Shrine. Three years later, the mikoshi ﬁrst paraded through thehighlight of the festival is when several

neighborhood. The citizens joined in at the tail end of the parade. Those are the roots of the current Kawagoe

ﬂoats gather at an intersection and theFestival. At that time, Koedo Kawagoe had a close relationship with Edo through Shingashigawa-River

stage rotates to face each other, creating atransportation. Soon, the style of the Festival was deeply inﬂuenced by the Edo Tenka Festival and began tospectacular musical performance. During thefeature the pulling of spectacular festival ﬂoats. While the festivals in Edo switched to using mikoshis principle,

nighttime Hikikkawase, when lanterns are held

the Kawagoe Festival carries on the tradition of the old Edo Tenka Festival to the present.

up and cheering for the musicians is heard,

Venue for theKawagoe Festival

Shinmei-cho

254
Shingashigawa
River

Ishiwara-machi

Fudanotsuji
Kawagoe Festival Museum

Kawagoe City Hall

Toki no kane(Time Bell Tower)

14 Yoiyama

Hikawa-choSat.

Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine

Saibansho-mae(Courthouse)

Shiyakusho-mae(City Hall)

Tsukiyoshi-Rikkyo(Tsukiyoshi Overpass)

Museum Entrance

14 Performance

Ladder Acrobatic

Honmaru Gotenof Kawagoe CastleSat.

Kita-in Entrance

14 15 Hikkawase

Renjaku-cho
To

Rokken-machi

doka
Sanatioi Steshago
Kaw

Hon-Kawagoe ekimae(Hon-Kawagoe Station)

Kawagoe TechnicalHigh School Entrance

15 Jinko-sai

Sanban-cho

Deities of Hikawa are put on the mikoshi and paradedthrough the city, which brings beneﬁts and wishes forhappiness and prosperity of the town. It is the traditionalritual and the origin of the current ﬂoat festival.

Sun.

●10:15 Starts from Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine●Around 11:45 Returns to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine

gowa

Ka

15 in front of the city hallFestival ﬂoats parade

tateSTo

Westa Kawagoe

16ntioStarokubu
IkeTonetio
LinStajoiya
Toine Ombu
Toe L To
gowa
Ka
JRionaw

ToSun.

When the festival ﬂoats meet each other, they face the frontand play hayashi music together. Japanese lanterns areswung vigorously. and the festival reaches its climax.

Tori-machi
Hon-K
Staawagtio oenn
ioatStn
tio jukutainaSShuzibroSe
koe
LinSat.

Kita-in Temple

Kawagoeshi
Station Entrance

ToKomagawa
Station●Around 18:20 ‒ 18:40

In Kawagoe Festival, you can enjoy traditional ladderacrobatic performance. The audience erupts in applause andcheers each time the skill of the performers is demonstrated.

Yamazaki House

Matsue-cho●Around 18:00 ‒ 19:00

Festival ﬂoats are illuminated with traditional lanterns.
You can thoroughly enjoy the festival ﬂoats and hayashi
music.

Ote-machiNaka-cho

the mood of the festival reaches its climax.

HighlightsN16Sun.

●Around 13:30 ‒ 15:30

Festival ﬂoats parade in front of the city hall. You can see
many ﬂoats at a time.

Fujimi-cho※Floats will not be displayed lined up in front of City Hall

Vehicle traffic prohibited （10:00~22:00）

The Jinko-sai parade routes on October15th.
Traﬃc congestion area.

*The parade may be canceled depending on weather conditions.
★Please use public transportation.

Kawagoeshi
Komagawa
Higashi-Hanno

KawagoeAsakadai

Higashi-Murayama

About 20 minutes from Omiya to Kawagoe Station on the JR Kawagoe Line

Seibu Ikebukuro Line
Seibu Kokubunji Line

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tobu Tojo Line- Shortest possible time about 80 minutes (Kawagoeshi Station)

Seibu-Shinjuku Line

Keio Line- About 28 minutes to Kawagoeshi Station
About 44 minutes (shortest possible time) from Seibu-Shinjuku Station to Hon-Kawagoe Station by Seibu Shinjuku Line Limited Express

SaikyoLine
Kotake-Mukaihara

Yokohama

JR
Keihin-Tohoku Line
TabataTakadanobaba
Shinjuku

ShibuyaSeibu-ShinjukuJRYamanote LineTokyo Metro
Fukutoshin Line

Odakyu Line
Tokyu Toyoko Line

JR Musashino Line
AkabaneIkebukuro

JR Chuo Line

Nishi-Kokubunji Kokubunji

About 50 minutes from Shinjuku Station to Kawagoe Station by JR Saikyo Line Rapid Express

Minami-Urawa
Musashi-Urawa JR

NerimaTokorozawa

About 26 minutes from Ikebukuro Station to Kawagoe Station by Tobu Tojo Line Kawagoe Limited Express

About 78 minutes (shortest possible time) from Yokohama to Kawagoe Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line,Wakoshi

Tobu Tojo LineJR Hachiko Line
HachiojiOmiya

Kita-AsakaineoLchkuuraoYetroMkyTo

Access to Kawagoe

JR Kawagoe Line

Hon-Kawagoe

OsakiTokyo

Yurakucho
ShinagawaOimachi
Rinkai Line

Shin-Kiba

Tennoz Isle