See the floats of Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri

The Gion Matsuri is the festival of Yasaka Shrine, in the Gion district of Kyoto, and one of the oldest and largest in Japan. It began in 869, when prayers were ordered to placate the spirits believed to be causing an epidemic, and it has been held almost every year for more than a thousand years. It lasts the whole of July.

What the experience is

The festival is known for its floats, the yamaboko. There are 34 of them: ten hoko, enormous wheeled towers topped with a tall pole, and 24 yama, smaller floats carrying figures from history and legend. The largest hoko stand as high as a building of several storeys, weigh many tonnes and are pulled through the streets by teams of men hauling on ropes. They are assembled each year without nails, by the neighbourhoods of the old merchant quarter that own them, and are hung with tapestries, some of which came to Japan along the trade routes from Persia, India and Flanders centuries ago. The floats were recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

There are two processions. The first, the Saki Matsuri, takes place on 17 July and is the larger. It is led by the Naginata Hoko, which carries the chigo, a boy chosen each year as the sacred child of the festival, who cuts a rope with a sword to open the parade. The second, the Ato Matsuri, follows on 24 July with the remaining floats. The most dramatic moments are the turns at the main crossroads, where the hoko, which cannot steer, are dragged round on wet bamboo.

The three evenings before each procession are called yoiyama. The floats stand in the streets, lit by rows of paper lanterns, with musicians playing the festival music from their upper decks. The streets are closed to traffic, food stalls line the avenues, and some of the old merchant houses open their front rooms to show folding screens and family treasures.

When to go

The yoiyama evenings are 14 to 16 July and 21 to 23 July, and the processions the mornings of 17 and 24 July. The first set is the more spectacular and the more crowded; the second is calmer and closer to what the festival once was. July in Kyoto is hot and humid.

Getting there

The floats are in the area around the Shijo-Karasuma crossing, in the centre of the city, a few minutes by subway from Kyoto station. Paid seats are sold for the processions; otherwise arrive early. Hotels for these dates are booked many months ahead.

Why OKYTO recommends it

Because it shows the city as its own people know it, in the merchant quarter rather than the temples, and because the evenings among the lanterns are unforgettable. For where to stay, see OKYTO’s guide to Kyoto’s new hotels.