Date: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, ending on the first Sunday of August
Location: Ono minato shrine 大野湊神社 163 Ha ハ, Teranaka-cho 寺中町, Kanazawa 金沢, Ishikawa, Japan
Access: 5-minute walk from Nishi Keisatsu Sho-mae bus stop on Hokuriku Railway buses bound for 60 Kanaiwa 金石, 61 Ono 大野 and 63 Ono.

About 30 minutes from Kanazawa Station. About one bus every 30 minutes.

based on 2024.8.4.

Overview

Throughout the festival, various events take place, including processions of portable shrines, boats setting out to pray for a bountiful catch, and fireworks displays. In addition, groups of exorcists perform exorcisms at various locations throughout the town. However, since only locals—and especially those directly involved—know which locations they’ll visit that year, the best choice is still to check out the event plaza on the final day.

Main Events begin

People gather at the main venue for the festival’s final day around 4:00 p.m. The main venue is located near the Kanaiwa Bus Terminal, where the central road is completely closed off to create two stages, one at the front and one at the back. Each group performs on the first stage and then moves to the second stage to do the same.

One of the highlights is the performance by the Kaga Tobi. “Tobi” is the name of a bird resembling an eagle, but it also refers to people who work at heights. However, in the past, the term referred to firefighters. During the Edo period (the age of the samurai), when fires were common, these firefighters were the target of popular admiration. In particular, here in Ishikawa Prefecture—specifically the region known as Kaga, which boasted the greatest national power outside of the shogun’s domain—the Kaga firefighters were as popular as actors even in Edo. Performing feats such as climbing onto roofs or scaling tall ladders to assess the situation of a fire was not a spectacle, but an essential part of their job. Even today, fire departments often demonstrate these skills at New Year’s ceremonies and other events across the country.

Drive away evil from the town

Around 5 o’clock, the crowd begins to move in a circle around the venue. The main event is about to begin. It’s the height of summer, so even at 5 p.m., it’s still bright out.

Two men dressed strangely like ancient yamabushi ( Buddhist monk) lead a group to ward off evil spirits. They wear high clogs, umbrellas and carry metallic canes. They lead the way first, reading out the names of the gods and chanting the sutra. Mysterious spectacles catch the eye.
A group of flutes and drums around the area help to enliven the occasion.

And there are three main actors. Black Hannya 般若, Red Tengu 天狗and Brown Okina 翁 (old man). They hold a broadax, a bow and a sword to ward off evil, each facing four directions, slashing evil with a sword or other weapon and stamping on the earth. The footwork also follows the secret methods of the mountain priests of the past. The footwork follows the secret method of Yamabushi in the past. Ninja also followed this method of walking without making noise.

High school students play all three of the main actors. No one knows why, but it has been a rule for some time. After the three years are up, the rest of the time they play supporting roles. In other words, the last performance is the final culmination for the third-year students.

They spend three days going from door to door in the town to ward off evil. On the way, many spectators crowd the crossroads, community centers and other large places. They split into several small groups, which can be powerful as they may all go together in large places. And finally, the original Ono Minato Shrine precinct. Around 7.30 pm.

History and overview

Ono Minato Shrine is situated 15 minutes’ bus from Kanazawa city center towards the sea. It was founded around the 8th century. Fire destroyed it in the 13th century, after which a new shrine building was built nearby (current location). So, the people tried hard to get deities to return to them, but it was difficult to achieve this. The origin of this festival is that people began to pray for the deity to return to their original place at least once a year. The festival therefore begins with the construction of a temporary shrine building at the original location. Deities returns to their home shrine and then returns to the original shrine three days later. And during this time, various events take place in the town. The most popular of these is the ‘exorcism’ introduced here.

This is the festival of the Ono Minato Shrine, but in fact there is also another festival in the neighbor town of Hiyoshi 日吉 shrine, where a group of evil-dispelling people also take part. The summer in Kanazawa is hot from the end of July to August. This is the time of year when you can see the two faces of Kanazawa, the normal townscape and the festive town.

Date: Fourth Saturday to Sunday in July
Location: Ono hiyoshi shrine 大野日吉神社　5-81, Ono-cho, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
Access: Bus From Hokutetsu Bus Korinbo (5 mins walk from Ono bus stop)… approx. 30 mins
From JR Kanazawa Station (only a few buses) (5-minute walk from Ono bus stop)… approx. 20 mins.
On foot 　From Hokutetsu 北鉄 Bus Kanaiwa 金石 rotary … approx. 20 mins.
From Kanazawa Port … approx. 15 mins.

cf. Ono minato shrine https://oonominato.or.jp/about/tradition/natumaturi/ sorry only Japanese
Ono hiyoshi shrine http://www.ohnohiyoshi.com/fes/summer
Kanazawa city https://visitkanazawa.jp/en/

Welcome to Kanazawa

Kanazawa is not only the heart of Ishikawa Prefecture but also the center of the Hokuriku region. It is not merely a modern city; it is a place rich in diverse charms, featuring a castle, one of Japan’s most iconic gardens, historic streets, and cutting-edge art museums. Kanazawa seems to encapsulate all the best of Japan in one place—it’s definitely a place you’ll want to visit at least once.

Date: September 20 every year
Location: Kumakabuto shrine 熊甲神社, Miyamae, Nakajima town, Nanao city, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan
Access: The nearest station is Noto-nakajima 能登中島 Station. It takes about 4.5 hours from Tokyo to there by Shinkansen and limited express. From Kanazawa, it takes about 1.5 hours by limited express and local train. A shuttle bus runs from Noto-nakajima Station on the day of the festival. There are also city buses.

Festival flow

There is a heroic festival in the Noto Peninsula in which many Sarutahiko appear. On this day alone, the cheers of the people and the excitement of the festival overtake the usually quiet town. On this day only, the people who go to this place take a day off from school and work to attend the festival. And they stubbornly observe the 20th. This festival is filled with the spirit of the people.

The festival is held by 19 shrines associated with Kumakabuto Shrine and their residents.
The festival consists of three main parts. First, people from each town come to the shrine with portable shrines and flags (the flags are the key to the festival). Next, when all the townspeople gather, move to Otabisho which is about 500 meters away from the shrine. Finally, the participants perform a performance using flags at the otabisho. During these processions, the leader of the procession is Sarutahiko, an incarnation of the masked god. As readers of other articles on this site may know, Sarutahiko has always been the leader of Japanese festivals. Especially there’s a lot of them at this festival. There are at least two or three Sarutahiko in a town, and there are 19 towns in all. One of the highlights of the festival is that these Sarutahiko parade through the streets and shrines, performing their unique dances to the rhythm of gongs and drums. Let’s take a closer look.

The entry of the portable shrine into the shrine’s premises

Festival morning comes early. Around 7:00 a.m., people carrying portable shrines and flags from each town leave the town for the shrine. There are 19 towns in total, some of which face the sea. So people from these towns bring their portable shrines to nearby towns on boats. By about 8:00 all the town get together. For a distance of about 200 meters, the festival group, centering on the mikoshi, will line up in front of the shrine. Let me explain about the flag here. This flag is the most distinctive and symbolic feature of this festival. It is a long red flag, about 20 meters long, and is called “wakuhata 枠旗”. Unfortunately, due to a lack of volunteers to carry the flag, the length of the flag has been shortened to about 15 meters in many places these days.
Upon arrival, the first thing Sarutahiko does is tap on the steps of the main shrine. This is a greeting that he has arrived. Following this, people raise the flags in the precincts of the shrine with a loud shout. The ceremony lasts for about two and a half hours. This ceremony at once sends the audience into a whirlpool of excitement. When all towns arrive it will be approximately 10:30 am. From there, the arrival greeting ceremony begins. Led by Sarutahiko’s dance, portable shrines and tool bearers march in two lines to greet the gods. When all are assembled, the priest proceeds to the center and gives a festive greeting to the deity. Here all rituals in the precincts of the shrine come to an end. This is the first part.

Heading to the Otabisho 御旅所

Shimada kuzushi (Otabisho)

Guided by Sarutahiko, mikoshi and flags from each town depart one after another for Kamohara, the otabisho. The last group finally leaves the shrine around 2:00 PM when the first group arrives at Kamohara. The sight of red flags over 15 meters high lining the Kamohara and golden mikoshi (portable shrines) in the sun is spectacular. And here is the highlight of the festival: the flag parade.

Among them, the skill that people are most looking forward to is Shimada-kuzushi. It means to put it into disorder. It is a technique to knock down a long flag so as not to touch the ground. The origin of the name is as follows:. Once toppled, the flag touched the hair of a woman who came to see the festival and ruined her hairstyle. The name of the hairstyle is Shimada. It is said that the name ‘Shimada-kuzushi’ came from the fact. The festival continues until around 5:00 p.m., and the fervor continues unabated. Unfortunately, we can no longer use long flags like before. Because of the labor shortage in recent years. However, the spectacle and enthusiasm of the event is the same as in the past.

Ending

It takes only 2 hours to get there from Kanazawa (Kanazawa is 2.5 hours from Tokyo). In addition, Wakura 和倉 Onsen (hot spring) is just 15 minutes away. Wakura Onsen is also home to the most famous inn in Japan, Kagaya 加賀屋, which has been voted the best inn in Japan for many years in a row (though it is moderately priced).

In 2025, the Noto Peninsula was damaged by a major earthquake and also by heavy rain in the summer. It is still in the middle of reconstruction, but the people have been reviving the town with the indomitable spirit of never giving up, and the festival has continued. Why don’t you see the beauty of the Noto Peninsula, the strength of the people, and the valor of the festival with your own eyes?

Date: 31st, July and 1st, August (Nafune festival)
Location: Nafune town, Wajima city, Ishikawa prefecture
Access: About 1 hour by airplane from Haneda (Tokyo) to Noto Satoyama airport
or It takes 1 hour by JR Nanao line from Kanazawa to Wakura Onsen, and 40 minutes by Noto line to Anamizu

Since they are a popular group, they are invited to various events. However, one of the most prestigious and nerve-wracking events for them is a performance at the local Nafune Grand Festival.
This is a small village with only about 200 residents. More than 10,000 people gather for the festival. Even those who have left the village come back only for the festival.

At the Nafune Grand Festival, many people come to see the Gojinjo-daiko. On the first day of the festival, from around 9:00 p.m., a large number of people carrying kirikos pass through the shrine and head for the sea. Then the drums are performed. After that, people continue to enjoy late into the night. The next day, the festival starts in the afternoon.

Even if you can’t see it on this day, there are still many opportunities to see the Gojinjo-daiko. The easiest way is to go to the Wajima Kiriko Museum, where the Kirikos are displayed, and performances are held every day at a certain time. There are also other opportunities to see the performance at some hotels.

Summer in Noto is the summer of the Kiriko Festival. And Kanazawa, a popular tourist destination, is nearby. And of course, there are hot springs.